Ill-Fated
by BarelyProdigies
Summary: Young Naruto lives a happy life with his mother in Mizu no Kuni. It all changes when Kiri ninjas assassinate her because of her bloodline; with her death Naruto forcibly awakens his Iron Release and sets himself on the path to avenge his mother's death. Dark Naruto.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey boys and girls, it's BarelyGhost here. I've been having so many ideas that I just had to start a new story. Don't worry, I will still be updating BRF (Black Rain Falls) as regularly as possible, but this is a project that is just as important to me.**

**I won't be giving away any spoilers. This story is even more prepared and planned out than BRF- I know exactly what the sequence of events will be as well as the transitions between them as all the ideas just flooded out naturally. I'm very excited about this one.**

**I really hope you all enjoy this immensely, because I know I'll enjoy writing it.**

**Enjoy!**

**-Ghost**

**Ill-Fated**

**Chapter 1**

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It had been a happy life.

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A very small boy, three years of age, sat looking out a window. He was currently eating (very messily) a full bowl of waffle crisps, his favorite cereal (and the breakfast of choice for every aspiring ninja!). It was wintertime, and that was a cold region, so the snow fell harshly. However, it was beautiful, and to the young boy snow still held that magical quality; the soft, white powder created the feeling of a winter wonderland.

"Kaa-chan! I wanna play in the snow!"

Out of the kitchen nearby emerged a beautiful, slender woman with long, black hair and a wonderful, loving smile on her face and the dress of a simple housewife. Her impressive physique, however, suggested that she had done more than wash dishes and sweep floors her whole life. She leaned down and kissed her son on the cheek and ruffled his similarly dark, but spiky hair.

"In a little bit, Naruto-chan. First eat your waffle crisps then we'll go out", she said with a certain serenity, all while still wearing that lovely smile. Naruto nodded vehemently and she chuckled as she watched her son scarf down the cereal with great vigor.

Naruto loved her mother more than anything. Even at that age, he knew he wanted desperately to protect her and watch out for her no matter what. She was all he had ever had. No friends. No other family. Just her. She treasured him immensely, and he knew that, so the least he could do was return the feeling. None of these thoughts specifically went through the child's head; they simply were. He would do anything for her.

The waffle crisps were done now, the bowl empty, so he got up and put it in the kitchen. His mother noticed he had finished. "I'll go out and see how cold it is."

"Ok, Kaa-chan!"

He stood just behind her as she slowly opened the door. It wasn't as cold as she'd expected which was good. She stood outside and called to her son.

"Ok honey, grab two jackets and you can come out."

"Yes, Kaa-chan!" As fast as he could he scampered to his room to grab a few jackets and hurriedly threw them on. He walked back to the door and looked up at his mother.

"Come on out, sweetie!"

Naruto looked at her. She truly looked like an angel, standing there in white, while the snow fell around her. It was a beautiful sight.

He began to walk toward her to hug her. She bent down to return the loving gesture when suddenly she perked her head up to the left. Before the little boy could ask any questions, four ninja had surrounded her. She immediately dispatched them all and screamed, "Naruto, run!"

The 3 year old took off at a break-neck pace into the house. He immediately ran into his room and under the bed. He stayed there for what felt like days, hearing metal clanging, yells, shouts and suddenly-silence.

For what felt like an eternity.

Silence.

Naruto heard footsteps approaching his room. He somehow restrained himself from running out from under the bed and calling out for his kaa-chan. The feet were now in his room.

They were not his mother's.

He yelled as loud as he could and ran out from under the bed. Naruto just couldn't contain the immense anger he felt. In a flash he was at the strange man. Before he knew it the man had grabbed his tiny body and held him up to his face. The frightening man wore a devious smile under his headband. "Mizukage-sama said no survivors. Not even kids."

Another ninja equally as scary walked up next to his companion. "You won't be as tough as your bitch mother now will you, big guy?" he said with a laugh and his partner joined in.

At this comment Naruto's fear and rage reached a fever pitch. He screamed louder than he ever had threw his arm forward then suddenly everything went black.

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Naruto woke up slowly and looked around. Everything was blurry for a bit and he was exhausted but he rubbed his eyes. His eyes fell on the wall across from him and he witnessed a sight that made him throw up.

The two ninja who had come after him earlier were pinned against the wall by giant metal spikes. Blood stained the entire room, and the boy looked down and saw that his jacket was drenched in it as well. He was horrified but he knew he had to check on his mother.

He stumbled out to the front yard. The stench of fresh blood permeated the air and he gagged. He had thrown up as much as possible. The area was littered with dozens of bodies and the previously clean, beautiful, white snow was stained red all over.

In the center lay a familiar figure. To his best ability he ran over to his mother and dropped to his knees. At first, from his point of view, she seemed peaceful and unharmed, as though asleep. He was suddenly sure she would just wake up now and all would be ok. But then he reached under the back of her head to pick her up.

That was when he felt and saw the kunai lodged in it.

He would have screamed but his throat was clogged with tears. He knelt there mourning over her body for hours. He was overwhelmed with grief. Even at his young age, he could understand such incredible love.

Now he would understand a grief just as great.

"I love you so much kaa-chan. I love you so much."

He suddenly became intensely angry yet again. This time it was more controlled. More focused. He reached nearby and picked up a headband of one of the enemy ninja. After burning the insignia into his memory, he placed it down and said his final goodbye.

"I'll miss you kaa-chan. But I know you're always going to be with me." He looked up at the sky. The snow continued to fall.

"And I will avenge you."

With that he kissed his mother on the cheek for the last time and walked off. He knew he had to get out of there.

Naruto had become angry.

Naruto had become an avenger.

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As you can see, this story is serious right off the bat. No fooling around.

**Rate and review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Ill-Fated **

**Chapter 2**

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**Come-up**

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Naruto had decided it was safest to run through the forests adjacent to his house. He ran and just kept running. But he was 3. His limit came fast, but he pushed far beyond it and pressed on, driven by unfathomable fear and adrenaline. But his exhaustion made him sloppy.

After a miraculous 2 hours of breakneck sprinting through those woods, his jacket had been torn to shreds by being caught on so many branches and thorns. Finally he tripped on an exposed tree branch. It was feeling cold and he could feel darkness closing in. _Am I going to die here?_

But just before his eyes closed, his blurred vision noticed a shadowy figure approaching.

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_4 years later_

A 7 year old Naruto lay on a hard, uncomfortable "bed". It was really just a thin blanket lain on a cold, stone floor, in a corner of a cold, stone building with no insulation whatsoever. However, he was perfectly comfortable.

4 long years as a member of the secret VAPOR division of the Kiri ANBU will leave one finding anything comfortable.

It was the four year anniversary of his mother's death. He still remembered every moment with startling detail, up to passing out in the forest. The next thing he knew he was on this very same floor. Nobody had bothered to tell him how he had gotten there, but it wasn't too hard to figure out. Obviously a Kiri ninja had found him back there, brought him here, and they had decided to do the one thing they had told him the one time he had asked why he was there- "You will be sharpened as a weapon for the armory of Kiri."

The very same village that had killed his mother expected him to serve them? They didn't know, of course, much the same way they didn't know the boy was already plotting the destruction of the very ones who trained him. He could not wait for the day to come when he would use the power they had helped him gain to crush them.

Naruto was also smart enough to have discovered his kekkai-genkai, but also not to show it off to his teachers. He had long ago learned of the attitude of Kiri toward them and concluded that this was why they had killed his mother. He was indignant, but very, very patient. And as Kiri would soon find out, there was nothing more dangerous than a patient genius. He would keep gaining power, for he knew that he was on the fast track to becoming incredibly strong, even without his blood limit. So he would wait.

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When Naruto first woke up after the forest, he was immediately led into what looked like a classroom and was pointed to a desk. As he sat down he noticed the other 19 children there with him. It seemed he wasn't the only one who had been collected.

Since they were three when they came in, there wasn't much physical training the ANBU could give to the young "recruits", so they educated them mentally- the sensei started off by teaching them all about chakra, its uses and nature. After a few months of learning the basics, they decided to move on to Fuinjutsu, as this was a very practical and useful ninja art that was neglected by many, with Kiri gathering its foremost seal masters to teach the young charges a more specific field. Meanwhile, all through this time, their keepers drilled them daily on absolute servitude to the village of Kiri, and the true purpose of a shinobi- to be a tool of the kage. Be rid of your emotions, they said. They will only hamper your strength.

At age 5, the physical training began- brutal daily conditioning, as well as exercises in areas like balance, hand-eye coordination and reaction time.

At age 6, without warning, weapons training ensued- kunai, shuriken, but especially kenjutsu. The conditioning they received had been geared around two things: speed and upper body strength to be able to properly wield the otherwise ungainly long katanas they each received. Of course they were smaller than normal ones, proportional to their still very small bodies, but they were still very sharp and very dangerous. As the children grew so would their blades, ensuring a smooth transition. Along with the weapons, they began chakra control exercises.

Throughout the entire process, every stage had aspects in common with one another. The obvious was this- they were all extremely accelerated and incredibly rigorous. These children were enduring training that even normal ANBU found extreme- which was precisely the point. These were to be the ultimate tools of the Mizukage. It was not this, however, that interested Naruto so much as the subtler things that all the stages of training had in common.

Firstly, the masks. The various sensei that the students received wore masks. Always masks. They did not share their names, not even a code name, or show any emotion to them at all. Not even when their students failed did they show any anger or disappointment. After all, this might make the kids think they cared about them or their success. Ice cold demeanors were the only thing that could be picked up on. The sensei also rotated quite often, so the soldiers wouldn't get particularly used to or comfortable with a single one.

Secondly, the sleeping arrangements. They all stayed in a room with three people.

Finally, the learning system. There was no waiting around for those who fell behind. There were no tests or examinations. In the classroom and in the practice arena, you either grasped the material or you didn't.

What were all these implementations geared toward? Fostering strong bonds of friendship among the soldiers.

The lack of any kind of emotion from or familiarity with their teachers forced the kids to fall on each other for support.

The sleeping arrangements created little cliques of friends. Those running the operation knew that an attempt at a communal friendship would fail, as it's simply impossible for 20 people to become equally friendly with one another. It was much safer to make an attempt at forming several small groups of friends.

The learning system reinforced those cliques. As they spent all day every day with each other, the children would develop similar motivation to those in their group. The ensuing rifts in skill level drew each child into a group of those who were at the same level they were. Invariably, these people were the very ones they roomed with.

It didn't take long for Naruto to catch what their masters were trying to do, but even before he did, he was a loner. He didn't have the time or the desire to make friends. He had to get stronger. The fire of his motivation burned infinitely brighter than those of his peers. While they saw this as an imprisonment, he saw it as an invaluable opportunity to gain incredible power incredibly fast. Not only that, but his natural ability was immense, as his (although they would never admit it in any way) impressed teachers were only beginning to truly understand. These two things combined led Naruto to the head of his class- by miles.

The black-haired boy mastered every classroom concept, especially Fuinjutsu. But he was a genius in everything. His calling card in physical training was his sword work. His natural sense of rhythm, his light feet, his graceful footwork- he was a prodigy in the highest sense. He had never failed a conditioning objective, including the hours-long wind sprints and agility drills.

Despite their otherwise even-handed approach to all the recruits, Naruto was an exception. He received extra books on Fuinjutsu for his own study. He received private training in kenjutsu and conditioning after the general training had finished. His ANBU sensei were not good people, but neither were they stupid- they saw the diamond in the rough they had uncovered, and they would treat him as the genius he was. Such potential could not go untapped.

There was one occurrence in particular that cemented the opinions of all his masters that he needed special treatment.

At age 5, every soldier was given a puppy, the cutest, friendliest puppy they could ever possibly have dreamed of. It was arranged for Naruto to have the cutest one- a tiny, fluffy, white Pomsky. (Look it up if you don't know what it is.) For 6 months, the children could be seen thoroughly enjoying their new friends, playing with them almost constantly, and Naruto was no exception. After 6 months had passed, though, the children were all gathered in the arena with their pups and commanded to each kill their own dog with their bare hands. Every one of them grew horrified looks on their faces, and most cried- everyone but Naruto.

The boy simply muttered, "Took you long enough," and walked up and snapped his beloved puppy's neck in the blink of an eye without hesitation or remorse and strolled back to his- private- quarters.

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Naruto recalled all his past experiences in that place as he now stood along with all his comrades. They had all been summoned to the arena and told to come "battle-ready, both physically and mentally". They were all clueless as to what this cryptic message could be suggesting. But Naruto had a guess.

The second all 20 of them were standing in the arena, armed to the teeth with armor, katanas and small weapons, the whistle sounded that signaled that they were to be silent and stand at attention. The announcement was brief.

"You have one hour. All of you are to fight to the death. Only one can survive." And with that the masked man walked out a door and locked it, making sure everyone could hear.

After the initial shock, which lasted more than a few seconds, all the soldiers' ninja intuition kicked in. Instinctively, they all separated into their groups and quickly took positions on the periphery of the circular arena. All except one, of course.

They all watched as the boy with the spiky black hair still stood in the middle. "I hope you guys don't mind, just give me a second."

He knew this would be relatively difficult, since it was likely that all 19 would come for him first since he was the toughest, so he decided to pull his trump card right off the bat. Or at least his secondary trump card.

"Man, I haven't taken these off since I got them, what, two and a half years ago now." He proceeded to lift up the legs of his black pants, revealing…leg weights.

The entire room erupted with laughter. "Leg weights? Seriously? That's the most basic shit I've ever seen!" "This kid is supposed to be the strongest in our class? Come on, he's a joke!"

Naruto simply took them off and with a knowing smile did a spin and heaved them as hard as he could up and away from himself.

When they landed, they created a large crater and a bunch of smoke in the stone floor.

Suddenly the room had become very quiet.

"Well, you guys are certainly talkative all of a sudden," he said cheerily as he smiled the most sarcastic and evil smile any of them had ever seen. "I suppose we should start now. I would hate to keep sensei-sama waiting." His aura stunk of a horrifying, creepy evil, and the fact that he sounded so cheery and was smiling just made it creepier.

In a flash he had disappeared from their vision.

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After about five or six minutes of horrible screaming, then about 30 seconds of silence, the current Kiri ANBU on sensei duty heard a knock on the door. When he opened it he found a smiling boy with black hair looking up at him.

"All done, sensei-sama."

He was shocked to say the least. He looked over to the arena and sure enough, there were 19 bodies, all neatly killed with a concise slice to the jugular. Naruto was soaked in blood. But despite this and having just killed the kids he'd known for 4 years, he was _smiling._ Who was this kid?

"Did you kill them all?"

"Yep."

The ANBU nodded. He was well beyond impressed.

"Ok, Naruto. You're ready."

"For?"

"First off I'll be honest. Originally the plan had been to wait until you were all 8 to do this, but it was a foregone conclusion that you would win, so we moved it up a year."

"I appreciate you noticing my potential."

"Of course. From now on the formalities can be forgotten. We all know you are true shinobi material, so there's no more need for all that shit. I'm Ansu." He held out his hand and took off his mask with the other. "I'll be your one and only sensei from now on."

Naruto was very surprised. The man seemed very sincere, and he had even gone so far as to remove the mask. Of course, he was far from trusting the man, but he was obviously more than willing to continue his training. He returned the handshake.

"There's one very important thing to know that will be true from here on out. Clearly you didn't find the previous regiment too hard, since you demanded those leg weights, so from now on the training regimen will be much harder than the last."

"Perfect. I'd have it no other way."

"I appreciate your enthusiasm. But I don't think you understand how difficult and demanding this will be."

The boy stood unblinkingly facing his new sensei. "No, I do."

The man shook his head. _I have to remember who I'm talking to._ "Ok, if you say so. Come on, we have no time to waste," he said as he strolled the boy and into the practice area.

The boy followed with no hesitation.

_Finally my training can really start. _And start it would.

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_5 years later_

In a circular arena there stood a man, surrounded by 30 or 40 other men, all eyeing the one in the center with great impatience and bloodthirstiness.

Well, the one in the center wasn't quite a man, but he sure as hell looked like one.

Naruto had become a physical specimen. At 12 years old he measured 5'9", 180 pounds. His muscle was lean and dense, rather than big, flashy and cumbersome, which maximized his speed; after all, quickness was the focal point of all his conditioning.

He wore a long sleeve shirt that was open at the torso, revealing his incredibly well-toned chest. The shirt was black with light blue tsunami motives, with black ninja pants to match, but the motives were only on the right leg; the tsunami motives signified his "allegiance" to Kiri. The outfit was tied together with black ninja sandals and a sizeable gold chain that Naruto had requested because it was, to quote the obsidian-haired boy, "fresh". Surprisingly the chain never interfered with any of his combat. Ansu had voiced his dislike for the jewelry, calling it superfluous, but Naruto had insisted so the ANBU left it at that.

Now here he stood, surrounded by many very eager enemies, about to conduct another test. He quickly wrapped his blindfold around his head this only made his training "partners" even more excited. Now he was ready.

"Shall we?" he spoke calmly. In a flash all his enemies bellowed war cries and ran at him.

"**Hidden Mist Jutsu.**" Suddenly the entire room was enveloped in a thick and entirely opaque fog. The enemies every once in a while would hear a scream and a thud as Naruto began taking prey. He didn't need his sight- he could sense their chakra and smell their fear as clear as day.

After about 15 seconds, a few of them gained their senses. "**Futon: Gale Palm.**" Soon the mist dissipated. They all looked around. In just 15 seconds they had lost 10 men. But where was their foe?

"**Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu.**" Before many of them knew it, 3 shuriken had turned into 300. Only a few were taken by this initial attack, but a lot more failed to notice the nearly microscopic explosive tags underneath each. This attack in particular devastated the would-be killers. Most only narrowly avoided or blocked the shuriken, so when the small yet potent explosions occurred, many were left without limbs and necks. Now there were only 10 left.

As those remaining jumped back away from their attacker, two suddenly felt a sharp pain in their torsos and looked down to see kunai sticking through their hearts. They turned to see that one of their own had (both literally and metaphorically) stabbed them in the back! Quickly a fourth ninja cut down the traitor, who dispersed into a puddle of water. _Amidst the chaos he transformed a water clone to look like one of us so he could catch us by surprise. This guy…_

But that had been for more than a couple of cheap kills.

By the time the 7 who were left recovered from their surprise and turned to face their opponent he was gone. The ninja who had disposed of the clone turned all about. Presently his eyes landed on where his teammates had been. But instead of his teammates there were six Narutos.

For whatever reason, none of them were facing him, so he quickly dispatched two with kunai. Now they all turned to face him and they engaged in a sword fight. But before they could get very far the ninja along with the 4 Narutos were violently thrown into the nearest wall by a **Suiton: Rushing Rapids Jutsu.**

In his last seconds the ninja looked at the Narutos- but he didn't see Naruto. He had been attacking his teammates. It had been a genjutsu.

Naruto wasted no time in finishing his last 5 enemies by following up that water style with a **Raiton: Thunder Current Jutsu**. All 5 had been caught in the initial jutsu, and were now fried by the amplified electricity. 5 screams and the battle was over. The entire fight had lasted no more than 3 minutes.

Sensing no more chakra signatures, the black-haired boy took off the blindfold. The first thing he saw were all the bodies. He gave himself a mental pat on the back. It had been a good, well-rounded performance. The latter was most important- he could very well have killed all of them with just one technique, but he found it imperative that he diversify and use as many of his skills as possible in training.

Naruto was drawn from his thoughts when he heard the sound of slow clapping.

"Very, very well done, Naruto," Ansu said sincerely and a bit pridefully. "Those were all high level chunin and some jonin, but you made them all look like fresh genin. As always, they were enemy spies, and we told them we'd let them free if they could kill you." He smiled. "I knew there was no chance of that, but I couldn't have possibly dreamed up a more dominant performance."

"Thanks, Ansu-sensei. I suppose I've been taught well," he said with a smile.

His teacher smirked. "I suppose so." He paused. "You know, I still remember that first day, after your, erm, "test" had been completed, when we taught you the **Shadow Clone Jutsu, **and you made all those clones, how many?"

"25."

Ansu whistled. "25 clones at 7 years old. You have the largest and most powerful chakra I've ever seen by miles."

Naruto simply nodded.

"Well, enough reminiscing. Again, your performance was exemplary. You showcased nearly all the abilities in which you have incredible expertise- ninjutsu, genjustu, a bit of fuinjutsu, kenjutsu, sensory capabilities, and technique in the art of silent killing. The only things you didn't show were your wind style and, of course, your medical ninjutsu, although I suppose you could've used your chakra-enhanced taijutsu."

"I guess, but there were only so many bodies, Ansu-sensei," the boy said with a chuckle.

The ANBU chucked too. "I guess. Alright, Naruto, you've earned yourself a break. Well done."

"We both know I don't take breaks."

"Yeah, but I might as well try."

With that Naruto gave his sensei a pat on the shoulder and walked off to his private training area.

Because Naruto had now been by himself, he could train by himself and therefore have a lot more freedom to practice harnessing his dirty little secret- his Iron Release kekkai-genkai. By now he had a near total understanding of it, although this was only a guess. Every time he thought he had mastered it, a new ability seemed to pop up, but this was far more exciting than frustrating. The more power he had the better.

And now all Naruto needed was a little more power. The tides were changing, the time was coming. Soon he would leave that place and carry out his plan of vengeance.

So the avenger bided his time.

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**This chapter actually contained the first battle scene I've ever written, I hope you guys enjoyed that.**

**I apologize for the dog-killing scene. I seriously considered not putting that in there, but I found it crucial to portray Naruto's personality accurately. If you're confused and think that he has a conflicting personality, good. By the way many of the jutsu I will be using will be original so if you do not know it then I probably made it up.**

**Please check out the other stories on this account, namely Black Rain Falls, another full length story I'm writing, Curse of the Hatake, a one-shot that was a hit with a lot of people, and Adventures of an ANBU Trainee, which is BarelySage's first story, and I promise you it's absolutely hilarious, especially once you get into the first proper chapter.**

**Rate and review.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ill-Fated**

**Chapter 3**

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**Growth**

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_(2 months later)_

Naruto awoke the next morning knowing full well what would take place that day. _It's finally time. _The day he had been awaiting for so long had finally come. The black-haired boy had planned out every minute detail of his escape and he was very sure it would work.

Either way, in no more than ten minutes he would find out.

Ansu had told him that the test a couple of months earlier had been to check if he was ANBU-ready, and obviously he had passed with flying colors. Today, then, he would be officially made an ANBU, so every person who had participated in his training would gather on the training arena to congratulate him.

Naruto scoffed to himself for two reasons. First, he knew he was easily ANBU level. The fact that they felt as though they had to test him to see if he was "worthy" of such a position was amusing. At 12, he could probably kill well over half the Kiri ANBU in single combat, and that was without his kekkai genkai. Naruto was never one to be boastful or lie to himself- these were simply reasonable conclusions drawn from sound, factual evidence.

Second, they were foolish enough to put all his jailers in the same room with him. They trusted him far too much. Now his plan to eliminate them all would be much easier.

A knock on the door and a call from his sensei interrupted his thoughts. "Be at the arena in four." The boy's eyes widened. _I have to get them into my private training area._

He was a bit worried at first, but in true genius fashion, he had already come up with a plan by the time he walked out three minutes later.

When he reached the arena, there were twelve masked ANBU waiting for him, along with Ansu and an elderly man wearing the robes of a noble. The captive recognized all the ninja as teachers he had had when he was younger, but the elderly man he had never seen before. This was the one who spoke first.

"It is a pleasure to meet you after all these years, Naruto. I have watched you from afar since you were a child, and you have yet to cease to impress."

The child bowed, not bothering to ask the man's name. "Thank you, elder-sama. Your words are kind. However, before I accept the honor you are about to give me, I would like to make a request."

"Whatever you'd like, child."

"In order to truly measure my strength, I would like to have the honor of sparring with one of these men, my old teachers."

The noble was surprised for a bit, then a pleased smirk grew on his face. "The boy wishes to prove himself even further. Certainly a respectable request. Turtle, you haven't taught the boy since he was very young, so you aren't very aware of his abilities."

The aforementioned ANBU nodded. "Indeed, I will spar with him."

"We'll do it in my private training area if you don't mind. It's not so big at this one, which I prefer," the boy said.

"Fine with me," Turtle nodded dryly.

Nobody noticed Naruto's devious smile as the 15 of them strolled over to the would-be battleground. _Game, set, match._

Soon everyone was standing in the room, and the two opponents were in the center ready to fight. Naruto looked around the room to ensure that everyone was well inside. He decided to address his victims.

"I truly appreciate all that you have done for me, especially you, Ansu-sensei. Unfortunately, you have all outlived your usefulness to me."

As his audience exchanged perplexed and worried looks, Naruto engaged his attack. He held up the ram sign. "Kai!"

All watched as an elaborate seal appeared on the floor and every one of them collapsed heavily to the ground.

"It's a gravity seal, he's attacking us!"

Even the highest-ranking ANBU was unable to move any part of his body, which was totally plastered to the floor, but he managed to notice something out of the corner of his eye- "Naruto is stuck too!"

_It's true that I had to put the seal all over the room, as I couldn't be sure where you would be standing, _the trained weapon thought calculatingly, _and I didn't have time to make myself an immunity seal, but it doesn't matter. I don't need hand signs to kill you._

**Suddenly focusing his chakra into his kekkai genkai, within a few seconds every single one of the hundreds of metal objects in the room- kunai, shuriken, swords- rained down on the 14 enemies as if they were caught in an iron snowstorm. In the blink of an eye, shocked faces became screaming victims, then, just as quickly, unrecognizable lumps of mutilated cartilage.**

Naruto canceled the gravity seal and strolled carelessly over to his prey. "You reap what you sow," he whispered as he stared emotionlessly at his old sensei. His eyes were empty, unblinking, as they gazed upon the murdered body of the only man who had ever shown any compassion or care for him. Naruto didn't care if this was Ansu or Kami himself, all he knew was that the man had turned from a stepping stone into an obstacle, so he had to be elimanted along with the rest of the trash.

As he scanned the area and prepared to make his way to his next destination, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. One of the slaughtered ninja had a red bleeping dot on his wrist. _Damn. _It was a signal beacon. Every ANBU within miles would be here ASAP. No sooner had Naruto considered this fact than he sensed at least twenty shinobi headed toward him at great speed, and based on their chakra levels they were definitely ANBU.

Naruto didn't panic- he never panicked- but he did realize the situation was dire and he needed to think of a getaway plan, and fast. He had considered in his planning the possibility of having to deal with a few ANBU here and there, but twenty, and so soon? He had never expected to meet so many so quickly. He couldn't take on twenty of them at once unprepared, and he knew it. If he had already mastered _that _jutsu, then perhaps, but it wasn't ready yet.

Nevertheless, his enemies were no more than a minute away, and the boy realized he had to make a last stand right there. _This better work or I'm fucked. _So the boy began focusing and amassing as much chakra as he could focusing it into a single point. _I will live, mother. I must avenge you._

But fifteen seconds later his senses picked up something peculiar. At this point the ANBU were frighteningly near to his position, but there was something else, too. They were merely two chakra signatures, but one was very large, larger than those of the ANBU, while the other was absolutely monstrous, infinitely more than Naruto had ever sensed in any single person. These signatures were rushing toward the base with blinding speed, much faster than the others. No, wait- Naruto gasped. Those people were heading _towards the other twenty. _The black-haired boy's heart picked up for a second. He was being saved!

But his elation lasted only a short second before pessimism struck him. _What the fuck am I thinking, nobody knows about me and even if they did, they wouldn't care, _he thought realistically.

But what happened next shocked him. As soon as the larger signatures reached the others, the smaller ones started disappearing- they were killing the ANBU. But Naruto would not be fooled, so he resumed gathering his chakra anyway. Within thirty seconds there were only the two men left, and they walked casually over to the wall nearest him. The boy was ready, but he prayed to Kami that by some miracle it was a friend and not a foe. A misuse of this jutsu would be disastrous.

The men used some kind of powerful jutsu to open a hole in the wall large enough for them to step through and Naruto gazed upon them. Thankfully it was night time or he would have been blinded after nine long years of not seeing the sun.

The first thing Naruto noticed were their matching cloaks. They were black with red cloud motives on it. He immediately thought they were cool and that his chain would look dope as fuck over it. But then he noticed the actual people.

One was a very tall man, probably 6'7", who looked way too much like a shark, complete with blue skin and gills, and who had a large, strange-looking sword attached to his back as well as a Kiri headband with a slash through the middle. This man Naruto immediately recognized as Kisame Hoshigaki, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, about whom he had been taught, as well as his sword Samehada.

The other man, however, was a mystery, at least at first. He had dark hair which framed his slashed Konoha headband. But what really stuck out were his eyes- blood red sharingan. Naruto knew enough about doujutsu and current events to identify this as Itachi Uchiha, the man who had slaughtered his entire clan before fleeing his village.

The boy quickly spoke first. "Hello, Kisame-san, Itachi-san. I assume you two have come to my decidedly unnecessary rescue?"

The two cloaked men were surprised at this response to their breaking in. They had expected a lot more live ANBU in here to contend with, not just a boy standing next to several dead bodies and immediately positively identifying them both. They already knew this kid was full of surprises.

"That's right, our leader heard some good things about you and sent us to come and get you out of this shit hole."

Naruto nodded. These guys were world-renowned S rank nins; if they couldn't make him stronger, nobody could. "Ok, sounds good."

Even Itachi's eternally stoic demeanor was broken by this as shown by his quickly rising brow. This kid knew who they were yet were immediately willing to join them? Didn't he know they were criminals?

"I don't give a fuck about your morals," the boy said reading their minds. "I know you're both extremely powerful ninja and being with you is bound to be much better than being here, so I'm in. And obviously you have no intention of killing me or you'd have done it already."

Both the missing nins just shared a look.

"Can I ask exactly what you plan to do with me? And why'd you happen to come right now?"

Itachi took this question. "Our leader will explain our plans for you fully when you meet him. As far as our timing, we had been planning to go tomorrow but when we noticed these Kiri ANBU mobilizing so urgently we knew something must have occurred. However, this…"

"Was unexpected? Surprising?"

"Yes, you could say that."

With a satisfied smile, Naruto walked toward them and through the opening. The chilly air bit him but he paid it no mind. "Alright, I'm ready. All my necessary belongings are already on me."

"Very well, we'll be off then." Itachi looked over at Kisame and nodded, which went unnoticed by Naruto.

Naruto was about to ask which direction they were headed when everything went black.

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The boy woke up in a room with an opening on one side. He looked out at the opening and noticed that it was raining heavily. Rain was something he had heard about, but never seen, or at least remembered. He had a bit of a headache but he ignored it, got up and walked out to the opening. The feeling of the rain, which was light at the time, was pleasant. It was cool and refreshing.

He looked out at the view. He was very high up, on top of the highest building in the area. The view of the village was beautiful, despite the dreariness of the water.

Naruto sensed a figure approaching behind him but decided not to turn around.

"Amegakure," spoke a female voice. "My home and the place I have sworn to protect with my life."

The boy turned around and faced the speaker. It was a beautiful woman with blue hair and a calm demeanor, wearing the same black cloak with red clouds.

"Hello. I'm sure you know me, but I'd like to know you, and the reason why you have two S-rank criminals wearing matching clothes like it's twin day at the academy."

Naruto was expecting at least a polite chuckle for the effort but he just got emotionless look. _Alright then._

"As far as me, I am Konan. I live to serve Pain-sama; his wish is my command. As far as the organization as a whole, we are known as the Akatsuki. Our ultimate purpose is to take over all the elemental nations and create a peaceful world, while the current stage of our plan is to sell ourselves out as mercenaries in order to receive necessary funds. Our leader is Pain-sama, and we have several current members who are all S-rank missing ninja."

"Very well. I assume you guys got me out here to join but just because I am young does not mean you can put me on some Akatsuki JV team or some bullshit like that. So when will I be meeting this leader and these other members?"

"Quite soon. Pain-sama should be arriving soon, then we will use a special jutsu to communicate with the others."

"Now comes my most important question- what do you want with me?"

Konan stepped up next to him on the edge of the outlook of the building. "One of our members has a burgeoning spy network. He was informed about you and was immediately intrigued. Your potential and abilities are immense. After hearing of your exploits two months ago, we found it imperative that you join our ranks and be trained by our own. Traveling with Itachi-san and Kisame-san will drastically enhance your learning curve. Within a few years you will be our most important member. That is, of course, if you're willing to join us."

Naruto chuckled. "You mean I get a choice?"

"We will not force you to be among us. However, we can provide whatever you seek- money, power, fame- all these will be yours in great quantities if you join us."

The boy gazed out upon the landscape of dark, eerie buildings. "Those all sound good and well, but there is only one thing I truly want- revenge."

"Explain."

"When I was a very young boy, Kiri ninja killed my mother for some fucked up "righteous purge". My entire life since then has been geared toward becoming powerful for the sake of avenging her death. So yes, you offer of power is very enticing, but I also require the opportunity to kill those who were behind her killing."

Konan nodded. "So you request the same thing as Kisame-san."

"Wait, what?"

But his inquiry would have to wait, as he sensed an incredibly powerful chakra approaching. Soon a man appeared wearing the Akatsuki cloak. He had bright orange hair, but his eyes were what interested Naruto- they were purple with concentric rings. He had never seen or heard of such eyes.

"Greetings, young Naruto," the man said calmly. "I apologize for the rough manner of transportation, but I gave Itachi and Kisame orders to bring you as quickly as possible."

"So you must be Pain."

Konan roughly intervened. "That is leader-sama to you," she demanded.

"Do not fret, Konan, he is as of yet unaware of the proper course of things here. I would assume you two have spoken?"

"Yes, we have. His only condition for joining is that we grant him a request, the same one Kisame had."

Pain nodded. "Understandable. We can certainly supply that opportunity. So will you join? Your abilities will be very useful to our purposes."

The boy thought long and hard about the offer set before him. He really didn't have much thinking to do. The fact was he needed the power he knew they could give him- there was nowhere else that could match the level of teaching they would provide. And he trusted that they would follow through on their promise. So why did he get this feeling that something was wrong with this all? He convinced himself that he didn't care what happened once he had taken his revenge. He swallowed his intuitions and made his decision.

"Yes, I will join."

Both remained stoic. "That's very good news," Pain responded. "You will be very glad you made this decision." He presented his newest recruit with a perfectly sized Akatsuki robe. The boy put it on and immediately noticed he was right- his big gold chain looked great with the robe.

"Come and we will meet the other members. We use an original jutsu, the **Magic Lantern Body Technique**, to communicate with each other no matter how far from each other we may be." As Pain explained to Naruto how to use the jutsu, Itachi and Kisame entered the room. Soon they were all ready and the meeting commenced.

The mindscape they shared was a dark room and holograms of ten people began to appear. Naruto only recognize a few of them. Pain spoke first.

"We have convened here today for me to introduce you to our newest member. This is Naruto. He has immense potential to be a powerful member in a few years. Although he is young, he is nobody to mess with."

The boy gave a smug wave to the rest of the members.

"Introduce yourselves," Pain said seriously.

Kisame began. "I'm Kisame Hoshigaki. I _will _kill that bastard Yagura and save Mizu no Kuni."

"Itachi Uchiha, I killed my entire clan merely for the purpose of testing myself."

"I'm Hidan, I love Jashin-sama and nothing else."

"Who the fuck is Jashin-sama?" Naruto butted in.

"Um, try the almighty god of the universe who blessed me with eternal life. You heathen!"

The newest Akatsuki raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

"It's fucking true! I mean it's just ridiculous how many people will just brush off…" Hidan kept talking but everyone ignored him as the rounds continued.

"My name is Kakuzu. Money rules the world. I despise annoying, loud-mouthed partners."

"I'm Sasori, and I love art- the real, eternal kind. I abhor waiting." he said with a glare at his partner.

"I'm Deidera, and I am the one who loves real art. Art is an explosion, hm!" Everyone nodded vigorously in agreement.

Sasori just scoffed.

"I am Naruto." He refrained from saying anything else.

"You shall all treat Naruto as an equal," Pain finished. "Any of you that take issue with this order should take it up with me. Dismissed."

Presently the jutsu fell and the five of them stood in the building in Ame again. No sooner had they returned than a black and white creature with a Venus fly trap-like appendage melted up through the ground and spoke to Pain.

"You summoned me?"

"First, Zetsu, meet Naruto, our newest recruit. Naruto, this is Zetsu, the spy of the Akatsuki."

"Pleasure."

"All mine."

"Yes, Zetsu, I would like you to find the lair of our old friend Orochimaru. We need the sky ring he still has to give to Naruto."

"Yes, my lord." And Zetsu melted away.

Then Pain turned to Itachi and Kisame. "Be off in an eastern direction. I'll inform you of your mission on the road. And, of course, be sure to train Naruto as much as possible and give him plenty of experience."

"Alright, kid, let's go. Time for some baby sitting," Kisame jokingly groaned.

With that Naruto and his new companions exited the building, and the avenger began the next phase of his life.

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**Rate and review.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ill-Fated**

**Chapter 4**

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**Iron-Fisted**

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Naruto and his new companions set off toward Kumo, after a message on the road from Pain stating that the Raikage had a mission for them.

"Did he say what it was, Itachi-san?" the boy asked politely.

"No, he didn't, we'll have to wait for the Raikage to give us the details."

The boy sighed, as he was very anxious for his first mission, despite how well he hid it. He had never performed any kind of mission for anyone ever, so he wondered how he would perform, especially considering he was being thrown into missions of extreme difficulty right off the bat.

"Just out of curiosity, how do you think I'll do? And be honest." The dark-haired boy didn't know that he had no reason to add such a qualifier as neither of the men he was with was one to mince words or go out of their way to make people feel better.

"Well, kid," Kisame began, "considering how you dealt with all those Kiri ANBU, you should be fine, although it will depend on what the mission consists of. For example, how are you with stealth and infiltration?"

"Second to none," the boy stated as a matter of fact.

Kisame chuckled at the boy's confidence. "Well then, that settles it."

"I concur with Kisame. Despite the fact that we have yet to witness your abilities firsthand, I'm quite sure you won't hold us back. And I'm very confident that we'll face nobody who would give me or my partner any trouble in combat." Kisame nodded in agreement.

"As I thought. Maybe for the first time you two could back off. I'd like to use solely my kekkai genkai in combat as I've only used one technique to actually kill someone."

The shark-man looked at him very curiously and even Itachi's perpetually stoic demeanor was broken with an eyebrow raise. "Kekkai genkai?" the Uchiha inquired. "The report of your abilities mentioned no such thing."

"It certainly didn't, or I would have died in that prison long ago," he responded. Kisame nodded as he was well aware of his native village's stance toward blood limits.

"What is it called?" the Uchiha continued.

"It's called Teton (Iron Release), or at least that's what I've called it."

Kisame's tiny beady eyes widened immensely, much more than he should've been able to, and he swallowed awkwardly so that he started coughing. Both his fellow Akatsuki looked at him strangely but then continued talking, and he was grateful that they thought nothing of his reaction.

"I've been unable to find anything matching its description."

"I have never heard of such a kekkai genkai. Have you, Kisame?" In response the blue-skinned man shook his head vigorously.

"Are you certain it's not the Steel Release of the Hozuki clan?"

Naruto nodded. "Very much so. I researched their abilities and compared them to my own and they are very different."

"Well what abilities does it grant you?"

Naruto grinned a sly and devious grin. "I guess you will just have to find out."

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Night fell and the group was still quite a ways away from Kumo. As they were nowhere near a hotel or any village, they picked a spot next to a river and set up camp there. Naruto took out a scroll and unsealed tents and all other manner of necessary camping equipment. Without a word, Kisame walked to the river while Itachi went into the forest nearby.

_Fish and firewood. They've been doing this a while. _The blonde decided to catch up with his fellow countryman. He found his shark companion simply sitting by the river, contemplating the current. The boy sat down next to him.

"Shouldn't you be catching fish?"

Kisame didn't turn his gaze from the river. "It takes Itachi much longer to get firewood than it takes me to fish. One jutsu and we have easy pickings. Plus I eat them raw anyway," he said with a toothy grin.

"Of course you do."

For a bit there was a somewhat awkward pause until Naruto spoke up again. "So I hear we have a similar goal."

This caused the fellow Akatsuki to look up from his meditation. "Oh, really?"

"I wish to eliminate those who instituted the kekkai genkai purge in our native village. They killed my mother. I will not rest until everyone who participated in this atrocity is dead."

Kisame studied his new partner. Such ambition in such a young boy. He would certainly be great.

"Seems we have more in common than I thought. The Hoshigaki clan doesn't exist anymore. We don't even have a real kekkai genkai, but because of our relationship with sharks and, primarily, the way we look, we weren't left out. I was fortunate to have learned about it when I did. At the time I was a member of Kiri ANBU, so they must have been planning to get rid of me somehow, but I managed to get out of there first."

The veteran Akatsuki continued. "I fully intend to redeem my village. I've made contact and kept in touch with the rebel forces, which are already accruing significant forces. Their leader is Mei Terumi, a powerful kunoichi with a kekkai touta."

"Kekkai touta? Very impressive."

"Indeed. She is a very effective leader. It's good to know you share my goal. You'll be very powerful in the near future, Naruto. Your help will be invaluable to the rebels. There are ways we can help before the war truly starts while we perform our Akatsuki duties. Would you help?"

The boy looked out beyond the river thoughtfully, but just for a moment. "I will. Let me know any way I can help at any time. I'll be glad to."

A very rare sincere smile grew on Kisame's face. Suddenly a voice was heard from behind.

"The fire's ready," spoke a familiar Uchiha voice.

"Alright, wanna help me catch some fish, kid?"

Naruto smiled. "I'm just following your lead."

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After a wonderful fish dinner which was cooked to perfection by Itachi's Katon, Kisame spoke to Naruto again. "Listen, you're going to be my apprentice, and I'm your elder and the much more seasoned ninja between us, so understand that when I tell you to do something, you don't question it. Just know that everything I have you do is part of making you stronger on an extremely accelerated course. Got it?"

"Got it," the boy answered without hesitation.

"Good, now follow me." Soon the two of them were standing on the nearby river. "Ok, kid, why don't you start by showing me how fast you are?"

"With weights or without?"

The shark-man raised an eye. "You wear weights? Isn't that kind of…elementary?"

"Not when they're made of iron and weigh a combined 300 pounds."

_300 pounds?! Is this kid on meth?_ Trying not to seem impressed, he coughed and continued. "Uh, well, since you won't wear them in a real fight, I'll say without."

Naruto didn't use hand signs but focused his chakra slightly and absorbed his iron leg weights. Obviously, he felt incredibly light. He hadn't taken them off since his "test" so long ago.

"Alright, now come at me with taijutsu, so we can kill three birds with one stone- speed, strength and hand-to-hand combat."

"Give me one sec to get used to this." For about a minute Naruto did some high-knees, skipping and light jogging.

_Ok, so he's gonna be pretty fast, _thought the vet.

"I'm good to go," the dark-haired boy shared.

"Ok." They both got into stances, with Naruto's being a basic low stance with most of his weight on his back leg and both fists up.

_A very straightforward, simple and balanced technique. He was taught well. _There was a brief pause as the opponents studied each other.

"Begin!"

No sooner had Kisame spat out the first syllable than his new student disappeared. His mind had barely had time to register that his student had just evaporated into thin air when the boy manifested just next to his face in mid-strike, his leg encased in iron.

"**Steel Shattering Strike!**" A shocked Kisame was extremely fortunate to block the body shot with his nearest arm. However, the force of the kick was so great that the veteran flew many yards away and now had a shattered forearm. He slammed into a nearby tree with such force that it felt like his back had broken as he slumped to the ground.

The man silently cursed his foolishness. He had no idea the boy's speed would be _that _great, and the possibility of him using his iron to augment his strength had never crossed the shark man's mind. He had been caught totally off guard, and now with a shattered forearm it would be stupid and pointless to keep going.

"Ok, stop, stop, stop. Spar over," the immensely embarrassed victim yelled. _Damn how am I supposed to beat my fish stick now?! _

Having sensed his sensei's reluctance and frustration, Naruto was slowly walking toward him. Out of the trees nearby, another figure emerged and held out his hand toward the boy.

"You cost me 100 ryu, Kisame-sensei," Naruto said with a smile. "Itachi-san here said you'd underestimate me, but I bet that you wouldn't. I really had faith in you." He shook his head in mock disappointment.

The ex-Kiri nin was appalled. "You bet against me, Itachi?"

The Uchiha shrugged. "What can I say? I know you. Come, Naruto, I'll train you."

"I'll be right behind you, just give me a second with this loser." Itachi nodded and left them alone. Now the victor addressed his elder, who was currently sitting against the tree attempting to mask his shame.

"Just know that I still respect you as my elder and superior and am honored that you would be my sensei. However, remember that I'm here and wearing this cloak for a reason." He paused and sighed. "Will you be ok?"

"Yeah, Samehada makes me heal a lot faster," he muttered.

"Very well, sensei." He patted his teacher on the shoulder and walked back to the river.

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The remainder of the group's trip to Kumo consisted largely of Kisame giving Naruto training in ninjutsu and kenjutsu. As their styles vastly differed, Itachi didn't really have much to teach the boy; their elemental affinities didn't match up and the Uchiha only used his sharingan for genjutsu. However, it was very beneficial for him to spar with the sharingan user, as it forced him to be more diverse, more unpredictable, and overall quicker in his taijutsu and kenjutsu moves.

Since there was nobody to teach Naruto new Futon and Raiton moves, Kisame had Zetsu secure a number of scrolls containing A- and B-rank moves in those areas. Naruto also requested more Suiton jutsu, which somewhat irked his teacher, as well as genjutsu and fuinjutsu techniques.

He wanted to get stronger, and he wanted it ASAP.

After relatively long journey, the three of them finally reached Kumo. As they approached the huge, stone walls and monstrous gates, it struck the young ninja that he had never seen a major ninja village before.

A young jounin named Darui met them at the entrance to the village and escorted them in. Immediately upon entering, Naruto gasped.

The village was breathtaking. They currently walked through the commercial area, where the market was held and all manner of trade and bartering was taking place between citizens of countless countries. The various smells hit him like a brick wall- salted fish, herbal fragrances and incenses, fresh bread and other baked goods. All in all, the boy found it magical.

The buildings were so numerous, and occasionally there was one that was big and ornate. After a good walk, the entirety of which Naruto spent enthralled by all the sights around him, the group of four reached the tower of the Raikage. It was easily the largest building the boy had seen yet, and it was beautiful in its architecture, as it was circular and branched off the side of one of the huge mountains that characterized Kaminari no Kuni.

But something else got him too. Since he entered the village, he had sensed two extremely powerful chakra. One violent, electric and just _fast_; it was a weird way to describe chakra, but it was just the feeling he got. It was very powerful. But it was the other chakra signature which impressed him. It was even larger and more powerful than Kisame's, tremendously large. However, it was friendly and happy and chill, quite different from the other.

Kisame leaned down to be even with the boy's ear and whispered some sagely advice. "Under no circumstances do you talk unless spoken to. Call him Raikage-sama and bow when we come in. Got me?" The boy nodded understandingly in response.

Soon they entered the tower and were led up to the office by Darui. Here the dark-haired young shinobi met the two sources of the chakra signatures he had sensed. Sitting down at his desk was the Raikage, who cast a very imposing figure with his huge muscles and electric hair. Standing next to him was a man with the same electric hair, and similar muscles, but with shades, a scarf, and eight swords strapped to various parts of his body. Naruto wondered how he could possible use all those in combat and decided that he'd very much like to see this on display.

All bowed in the presence of the kage.

"Greetings, Akatsuki. I am, of course, the Raikage, Ay, and this is my younger brother and right-hand man, Bee."

"Yo, what's up Akatsuki thugs, I spit bars like iron, so don't mock me cuz! Yeah!"

_Not bad, especially off the top of his head,_ Naruto, ever the rap aficionado, thought honestly.

Itachi spoke up. "Greetings, Raikage-sama, Bee-sama. Our leader informed us that you would have some missions for us to complete."

"Indeed. Your first mission is as follows. It seems that some remnants from Yugakure are encroaching on Kaminari territory. It's a rather large group. There is also the possibility that another hidden village is aiding them, although we're not sure which one. Since our employment of you is a secret, make it look like you are raiding them for supplies so that this does not come back to us, as since they aren't actually in land, we can't technically attack them without it being seen as an act of war. That's why you're doing it. However, we have reason to believe that they plan to begin attacking some of our border villages."

"Any questions?" The Raikage completed.

"Survivors?" Naruto questioned. For seemingly the first time, Ay noticed the boy, although he didn't believe him to be a boy because of his height and the fact that he was already growing some facial hair. He noted that Akatsuki usually traveled in pairs and this must be a new member since he had no knowledge of him. However, the kage said nothing about it.

"Bring one or two if possible. Eliminate the rest. Anything else?"

There was a brief pause. "No, Raikage-sama that will be all. We will be back with a prisoner in a day or two," Kisame responded.

"Very well, I expect success." With that the (mostly) S-class shinobi bowed again and walked out.

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It was nighttime, and three shadowy figures stood outside a sizable camp full of shinobi. One of them, the youngest, spoke up.

"From what I can tell, there are exactly 86 shinobi, 65 of which are asleep."

"You can tell if they're awake?" a blue-skinned one asked.

"Yes, based on the way their chakra flows and its feel."

He was silently impressed. The third one finally spoke up, his blood-red eyes glowing in the pitch-black, starless night. "And their skill level?"

The dark-haired boy refocused and grew a surprised look on his face. "Oh wow. 48 chunin, 22 jounin, and 16 ANBU."

"Sounds less like an aimless raiding party and more like a…a what exactly? Why would they gather so many ninja so close to the border?" the blue-skinned man asked.

"They wanted to get caught. They want Kumo to attack so they can have a 'righteous' reason for war. But why a non-existent village like Yuga would want a full-scale war with a major hidden village is a mystery to me. You could say they want a place to settle, but there are plenty of non-militarized lands for them to inhabit. Why here?" the man with red eyes observed.

"But what a stupid way to bait war. Why not just attack if you're going to just stop right by the border and let everyone see you goading them? Nobody is going to take their side in this. It's not a show of power either, since Kumo could easily match these numbers. Something isn't right. We shouldn't go in until we know what's really going on. So let's think- why would they want us to think they were baiting war?"

Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki considered this question, as did Naruto, the one who had posed it.

"Let's make a logical progression," the Uchiha decided. "They want us to think they are baiting war, so they want us to think they want war. So right now, let's say Yuga wants war. Why would they? Territory, money, power. Yuga is waging war for territory, money and power. But of course they need help, so who's helping them? One of the five major ninja villages."

"Who's an eternal enemy of Kumo? There's Iwa. They've always been sworn enemies and the most imperialistic village, so they're the most obvious choice. So where are we? Whoever is planning this wants us to think that Iwa is helping Yuga wage war against Kumo, who is apparently innocent of all fault. Who would want us to think that?"

Kisame was silent for this whole exchange while the two geniuses figured it out. This was all way over his head.

"Kumo," Itachi responded.

"I was leaning toward that, but if that's so, then why would the Raikage send us here?" This yielded silence.

"This is making my head hurt," Kisame said painfully. "Can we go in there now?"

"No!" both answered immediately. "We will figure this out."

After a pause, Naruto frowned. "Actually, Kisame-sensei is right. By fighting them we can see their headbands, taking off one possibility, and by their fighting styles put together the rest."

Itachi frowned as well. "Good point. Now Naruto, I know what you requested before, but…"

"I understand, it's a bad idea to take on all these guys solo."

"Alright, let's not drag this out, _Kisame_," the Uchiha said as he glared at his partner.

The shark user was thrilled that they could finally fight. "What, _me _drag out a fight? For fun? Never!"

And with that the three matching shadows disappeared into the night air.

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**Next chapter will showcase several of Naruto's Teton abilities. I am not sure if Teton is the accurate translation of iron release so if anyone knows it you can put in a review.**

**Rate and Review. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Ill-Fated**

**Chapter 5**

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**A Winding Path**

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Not bothering with stealth, the three criminals landed in the middle of the camp. Within seconds the alarm had been sounded, yet they carried a nonchalant and indifferent look on all their faces. Before entering, they had divided up the camp into sectors to be taken care of by each member, so Naruto ran over to his.

By the time he got there, there were already many ninja there. It seemed like he had run into a lot of chunin and jonin, no ANBU. _Well this is no fun. _

"**Hidden Mist Jutsu!**" he yelled. A very familiar fog covered the place. The boy formed several shuriken out of his iron and threw them at his confused enemies, several of whom were still grouped up together right in front of him. He threw ten of his iron shuriken at his foes, noting that none of them hit, as his enemies weren't that incompetent. But…

Naruto used his magnetic powers to pull the shuriken back toward the Yuga shinobi after they had passed, and used his **Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu. **Now 1000 shuriken struck all the totally unsuspecting nins from behind, eliminating all the ones in that group.

Sensing another large concentration of them to his right, he used his immense speed to dash over there in the blink of an eye. He simply held his hands out, without using hand signs, and shouted, "**Teton: Decimating Spikes!**" Countless iron spikes popped up from the ground and devastated the still-blind group of Yugakure nins.

Amongst all the carnage, a single Yuga ninja shut down his chakra and fled. Nobody noticed his escape.

Now deciding to dispel the mist, another group of Yuga shinobi spotted him and sent multiple jutsu at him: "**Katon: Spinning Torches!**" "**Doton: Mud Wolves!**" "**Katon: Flame Bullet!**" "**Katon: Phoenix Flower!**" "**Suiton: Water Trumpet!**" "**Suiton: Water Dragon Bullets!**"

The menagerie of jutsu and elements flew at Naruto. The boy was unimpressed as without lifting a finger he raised a wall of iron taller than him and a two feet thick to defend himself: "**Teton: Graceful Screen!**" While the wall protected him, a full set of armor made entirely of iron formed around him: "**Teton Armor: Envy of the Samurai,**" he whispered calmly.

The second the jutsu were all over, the fully encased young Akatsuki popped out from behind the wall and rushed at the rather large group of Yuga nins with his katana out. Every attempt to throw kunai at the boy failed, as the weapons merely bounced off, not even leaving a scratch in the armor. The boy could be completely offensive, almost reckless in his kenjutsu style, since any cuts from the swords of his opponents did virtually nothing. His speed was still quite a bit greater than any of theirs, despite the iron weighing him down significantly, so he could close in on them before they could use any ninjutsu.

Other than the downgrade in speed, this was the biggest drawback to the Teton armor: if any Katon jutsu were anywhere near him the armor would bake Naruto like an oven. Any Raiton jutsu and he'd be electrocuted since the iron would conduct the electricity. But the boy was working on solutions for both of these problems.

Before long the Yuga nins were overwhelmed. Naruto used his sensory abilities to see that only his two partners were left. He canceled the armor as they both walked over to him.

"That wasn't half bad, kid. Took you a bit, but pretty good anyway," Kisame judged.

"Indeed, we've been watching you for quite a while now, having finished our fights in a minute or two, but it was impressive. That is a very fascinating kekkai genkai you have," Itachi said, _almost _sounding interested.

_Damn, talk about some back-handed compliments. _"Uhh…thanks? I'd assume you got a prisoner?"

"Two, actually," Itachi answered. "One for us, one for the Raikage."

"Good idea. You can put those eyes of yours to some use, Itachi-san."

They walked over to one of the prisoners, who was tied up to a tree nearby.

"What village are you from?" Naruto asked.

The man was clearly very scared, as two world-renowned S-rank criminals and some six-foot tall man with black spiky hair were glaring at him menacingly. "Yu-yuga," he managed to spit out.

"Why are you here right outside of Kaminari no Kuni?"

The man hesitated for a bit, but one glance into Itachi's murderous, blood-red sharingan eyes changed his mind immediately. "Ok, um, well, Yuga formed a secret alliance with Iwa, in which we work for them and do whatever they say and they would promise us land in the future. Two weeks ago we got a message from them that we were to gather precisely this number of chunin, jonin and ANBU and gather at this exact spot outside Kaminari no Kuni. We were never told what to do once we got here, and we still haven't received a follow-up message. But I suppose that none of it matters now…"

Naruto nodded at his partners and they all walked away from their prisoner. "He's telling the truth," said the obsidian-haired boy confidently.

"So he is," Itachi agreed. Kisame knew he wasn't smart enough for this so he remained silent.

"So now it seems like Iwa is trying to start a war, but why sacrifice their own allies to do so?"

"I'm not sure. This is a perplexing situation. We will talk to Leader-sama about this. Sasori's spy network should be able to uncover what's going on."

"Very well. What do we do in the meantime?"

"Kill the man we interrogated just now. I don't think Kumo should be aware of what is happening just yet, so I'll put the other one under a genjutsu that will make him forget everything about the alliance with Iwa."

"Sounds good. I'll take care of this one."

Naruto walked casually over to the prisoner on death row swinging his katana carelessly.

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The three Akatsuki stood in Ay's office, having just been ushered in.

"I would assume your mission was a success?"

"Yes, Raikage-sama. We managed to secure a prisoner, who has been sealed within this scroll with a chakra suppression seal." Itachi gestured toward Naruto who brandished the aforementioned scroll.

"Excellent work, you Akatsuki can certainly be counted on. Bird, take the scroll to our interrogation unit." An ANBU standing in the corner walked over to Naruto, snatching the scroll from his hand and disappearing.

"Now for your next mission." He stood up, looked out the nearby window and sighed. "During the Third Great Shinobi World War there was minimal fighting in Kaminari no Kuni, thank Kami. However, there was some, and in an inopportune region of the land. In the northwest section of this country, there is a hidden temple which holds a legendary weapon, a blade known as Karitoriki no Kokuyoseki (Obsidian Reaper), said to be able to cut through a block of iron."

Naruto mentally scoffed at this. _Clearly hasn't met my iron._

"However," the Raikage continued, "I should say there _was _a hidden temple which _held _the Karitoriki no Kokuyoseki, because during the war, the temple was destroyed and the blade stolen by Konoha shinobi. Ever since then, my father and I have tried to regain the sword by peaceful means, since it is vital to the tradition and military power of Kumo, but every one of our attempts have been denied. Your mission is to infiltrate Konoha, find the blade and return it here without connecting yourself to us. Understood?"

"Understood," Kisame answered. _Oh is that all? Just infiltrate the strongest hidden village in the Elemental Nations, steal one of their prized possessions and bring it back? Isn't that a little too easy? Would you like us to kidnap the Hokage while we're at it? Fucking kage, I swear. We're S-rank shinobi not gods._

"Very well, any questions?"

"Are casualties to be avoided as much as possible?" Naruto asked wisely.

Ay thought for a second. "The most preferable way to do this would be very silently so that by the time they know the sword is gone, you're already half way here. However, if you are going to do this loud, or if things go south, do as much damage as you can. Within reason, of course," the imposing man said with a smirk.

"Very well," Itachi answered stoically. "We'll be on our way." With that the criminals bowed and exited the room. Bee had been standing there the whole time, and his bijuu, the Hachibi, spoke to him now through their link.

**Bee, that boy…he is something else. I thought I sensed it the first time and I didn't believe it, but now I'm certain of it.**

_What is it, brotha?_

**The power of that boy's chakra is off the charts. I sensed it the second he entered the building. Despite his size, he can't be more than thirteen…but he has the chakra reserves of a kage.**

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_(Several hours later)_

Four holograms "stood" in an enormous room that was illuminated by nothing other than a torch in the center of it. Just around this torch stood the four figures. They were Itachi, Kisame, Naruto and Pain, and the Uchiha had just explained to their leader their findings.

"So you believe there is a nation which is pulling the strings from behind the scenes?"

"Yes, Leader-sama," responded Naruto respectfully.

"I'm sure Sasori should be able to find out who is behind this. A war could very well be beneficial to our cause, as nations would be forced to expose their jinchurikii. Well done, you three." Pain ended the conference and the youngest Akatsuki found himself back on the road.

_This has turned out to be even more interesting than I thought…_

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_(Several days later)_

"We get to infiltrate Konoha and steal a prized possession from them! How exciting!"

Kisame's sarcastic remark pierced the hot mid-summer air. The three Akatsuki were in Hi no Kuni now, and nearing Konoha. Their trip had been incredibly uneventful, except of course for the constant training of Naruto.

"Kisame-sensei, will you quit bitching already? We're almost there now, and it'll go just fine," the student scolded his teacher. Itachi had to stifle a chuckle when he saw the look on his partner's face.

"Whatever, kid," the blue-skinned man retorted.

Within the hour, they reached a hill which overlooked the village from a distance. Naruto went over the plan.

"Ok, you two stay here for now. I'm gonna lose the Akatsuki cloak, obviously, and I've got this seal on my shirt that will suppress my chakra and keep the fact that I'm a ninja hidden. Depending on what I can figure out, either I'll grab the sword myself and meet you back here with it, or I'll come back without it because I need your help. Or you'll see smoke and know that I'm fighting someone. However, under _absolutely no circumstances _can the Hokage get involved. Got it?"

"Got it," his elders said simultaneously.

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A few minutes later, a young man with black hair and black eyes, wearing a black long sleeve shirt with black ninja pants, both with tsunami motives on the right sleeve, walked through the gates of Konohagakure.

Two chunin at the entrance booth eyed him as he entered.

"Izumo, that kid is in awfully good shape, I mean he's really fit. Also, ninja pants? Should we stop and ask him questions?" said one of them to his friend.

"Unfortunately, Kotetsu, we can't stop someone unless we sense active chakra, indicating they're a ninja. This guy clearly doesn't have any. Besides, just because you're jealous of his hot bod doesn't mean he has to be a ninja, and everyone knows that all the kids are wearing ninja pants these days."

"I guess you're right, but…I don't know, this guy just irks me. I guess I'm just being paranoid."

Naruto felt the eyes following him as he entered, but he had faith in his seal, and was never a worrier anyway. The boy instead looked about at Konoha in all its glory. He noted that the basic structure of the place was very similar to that of Kumo, but there were key differences- Konoha was bigger, had more people, and, of course, had the stone faces of the Hokage. It was truly an impressive sight, those four giant monuments to the greatest ninja in the village's history. But the boy couldn't care less.

As he walked through the village, searching for his objective, he noticed something else which he never spotted in Kumo- children playing. Everywhere he looked, he couldn't get away from the sight of small kids with wooden sticks playing ninja, laughing and having a good time.

It cannot be put into words how foreign a sight this was to Naruto. His dark, emotionless eyes looked upon the scene with a deep sense of confusion. Then a brief memory of his young childhood flashed though his head- he was sitting on a swing in a beautiful park, with flowers in full bloom and the sun high in the sky, a sign that it was spring. He turned around to see his mother smiling at him, with that warm, loving smile that made him believe she was truly an angel. He loved her so much; she was the world to him. And he could feel that she loved him even more.

But then, like a jagged dagger being stabbed into his gut, another image violently broke the beauty and tranquility of the memory- the same loving, caring, wonderful mother, lying dead on the ground, blood spilling from her mouth and neck as a three year old Naruto mourned over her body. Shaking his head from the thought, Naruto remembered why he was there and carried on with his mission.

The young man knew a thing or two about the village in which he walked. His education at the Kiri "training facility" had included nearly everything the village knew about all the other major hidden villages. So he knew precisely who would have the weapon in question- none other than Danzo Shimura.

Danzo was a sly fellow, a council member, not opposed to using underhanded tactics to aid his village. He had had aspirations of becoming Hokage since his colleague, the third, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had been chosen for office. In his zeal to protect his village and make it a stronger military force, he had formed a secret ANBU division known as ROOT. It had been officially disbanded years earlier, but there were rumors going around that this division was still very much in place. It was in the place that housed this division that Naruto knew he would find the blade. The only issue would be finding it, then infiltrating it without being noticed.

The black-eyed boy knew he would be one of only two people in the village with near-kage level chakra, so he focused his sensory abilities. Sure enough, he spotted both: the first was very large, as well as feeling bright, sunny and warm- certainly not what he was looking for. The other one hit it on the money: slightly smaller, but dark, mysterious and chilling. He followed this signature as quickly as possible but without drawing attention.

After a several minutes of walking, his eyes fell upon a nondescript little house, almost a hut, in the middle of nowhere on the outskirts of the village. Below ground, he sensed Danzo and a sort of ethereal chakra, but it wasn't coming from a person. _That must be the Karitoriki no Kokuyoseki_.

In addition to these, he sensed dozens of other smaller signatures. He sensed a few smallish (at least compared to his own) chakra signatures watching him, whom he expected to show themselves at any minute as he approached the building. Sure enough, three young people, only a few years older than him, jumped out in front of him.

"State your business here," one of them said harshly.

"Oh, I'm just minding my _own _business, touring the village. See I've never really been here before."

"You'll have to leave the premises immediately. Return to the village proper."

"I don't think I will," he said with a fake smile. The three ROOT agents were about to pull out their tantos when they started choking violently. Within seconds they had all died of asphyxiation.

Sensing nobody close by other than those inside the base, he didn't bother to dispose of the bodies before he entered.

On the door of the hut was a complex seal which Naruto positively identified as a fingerprint seal, so he ran back and cut off the hand of one of the agents. Pressing it against the middle of the seal caused the door to swing open.

The first thing seen upon entering was an elevator shaft. Stepping inside, Naruto assumed that his objective was on the bottom floor and so pressed that button. The lair apparently went very deep, so it took while to get down there.

The young man felt several signatures amassing at the door in preparation for him, so he prepared his jutsu in advance. As soon as the doors opened he unleashed it: "**Raiton: Thunder Palm!**" Numerous streaks of lightning shot out of his hand and devastated all eleven of the waiting ROOT agents. Naruto casually walked past the bodies. The bottom floor consisted only of one long hallway with a very well-fortified door at the end. The Akatsuki smirked. It was made of iron.

Putting his hands against the iron, he melted into the door then phased out the other side.

There, just in front of him, sitting on some twisted perversion of what was trying to be a throne, was an elderly man. He had bandages covering one side of his face as well as one of his arms, which was also in a sling. Dark hair covered his head, and a cane (which Naruto doubted he actually needed) leaned against his "throne".

This man was Danzo Shimura, the shinobi of darkness.

"Hello, young man. I'm very curious as to why you're here."

"I would think so, Danzo Shimura. I'm here for a certain piece of weaponry- a sword."

The old shinobi's one visible eyebrow rose. "You are here for the Karitoriki no Kokuyoseki. Seems like quite a lot of trouble for just a blade."

"Well that sword isn't just a blade, and my employers are very adamant about retrieving it."

"In any case, I'm sure you understand that I can't simply let you walk out with it."

"I'd expect as much."

The man got up out of his chair and prepared for battle. "How old are you?"

"Twelve."

"Yet you're very powerful."

"Some might say so."

"It's a shame you must die here. You would have served Konoha well." The man unwrapped his bandages to reveal the last thing Naruto would have expected- a sharingan eye. However, the boy hid his surprise and instead of asking questions just launched his attack.

The black-eyed young man used his full speed to attack the man with kenjutsu. If Danzo hadn't had the sharingan, he would have been totally unable to follow his enemy. But that didn't mean he could actually keep up.

In a flash the boy was right by him: "**Steel Shattering Strike!**" But the wily old shinobi was able to back up just in time with deceptive speed and perform hand signs to attack his now vulnerable opponent: "**Futon: Vacuum Wave!**"

It could have been over right there, but just in time Naruto landed on the ground and sped away with his near-inhumane agility.

_Such speed, _the ROOT commander thought. _And that kekkai genkai of his seems very powerful._

Meanwhile, Naruto was running in a circular pattern and performing handsigns: "**Suiton: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!**" Within seconds the entire room had filled seven feet high with water rushing out of his mouth, so that both men now stood on a man-made lake. He quickly followed that up with another jutsu, but Danzo had one as well: "**Suiton: Water Dragon Bullets!**" "**Katon: Fire Dragon Flame Bullets!**"

The two dragons of opposite elements circled each other before striking with their respective attacks and canceling each other out, resulting in massive amounts of steam. "I suppose I can use this to my advantage. **Hidden Mist Jutsu.**"

The opaque fog confused the old shinobi for a second before he came to his senses, and dispelled it: "**Futon: Wind Release Stream.**" Instantly the mist dissipated, but the shinobi of darkness was somewhat surprised to see that his foe was nowhere to be found.

_**Suiton: A Thousand Feeding Sharks, **_thought Naruto, who was underwater. Out of nowhere, Danzo saw countless sharks formed out of water dashing at him.

"**Futon: Great Vacuum Sphere!**" A large sphere of densely concentrated wind flew toward the sharks, not at all slowed by the water, and destroyed all of them thanks to the narrow space of the room, resulting in 1000 small implosions.

_Fighting this boy is quite fun, but I think I've had my fill. _As Naruto emerged from underwater, Danzo unraveled the bandages on his right arm. What Naruto saw horrified him.

On his forearm were implanted no less than ten sharingan eyes, on skin a totally different color from the rest of his skin. From his shoulder protruded an entirely different face. This was when Naruto realized that the man he was dealing with was truly a monster.

And now that monster was forming hand signs unlike any the boy had ever seen. "**Mokuton: Devastating Forest!**"

_Hmph. Wood style. Interesting. I can't imagine the kind of experimentation that took. _"**Teton: Graceful Dome.**" Instantaneously an iron dome surrounded Naruto, and to Danzo's surprise, easily stopped the wood. The shinobi of darkness was astonished. _How could he block the most powerful style of ninjutsu?_

Quickly the young Akatsuki dropped the dome and used one of his most powerful jutsu so he could finally complete his mission: "**Araton (Storm Release): Inspired Hurricane!**" By combining his wind and water, Naruto made a hurricane, and adding in his lightning caused the hurricane to be charged with electricity as well. Kisame had called this one of the deadliest jutsu he had ever seen, easily S-rank, a masterpiece.

Meanwhile, Danzo just stood there, waiting for the attack to come at him. _It's unfortunate that it's come to this, but I suppose I'll have to use __**that **__jutsu. _As the attack came on (it took about two seconds due to the size of the room) the shinobi of darkness suddenly disappeared, then reappeared a few feet away. But to his horror, he was still within the scope of the massive storm.

Five **Izanagi **later, Danzo had wasted five sharingan trying to escape from one jutsu. He cursed himself somewhat, but mostly he cursed the boy he was facing. The effect of such a jutsu at all was devastating enough that the old man knew he had no defense for it, but using it in such a confined space made it so that he was trapped. And sure, the **Izanagi** landed its user several feet away from the spot he was prior, but in the midst of a hurricane that could be as large as a mile wide, several feet simply does not cut it. It suddenly struck Danzo just how formidable an opponent he was facing.

"Facing" strictly in the metaphorical sense, that is, for now he could not find his young foe anywhere. A few minutes later the boy emerged from the water with the Karitoriki no Kokuyoseki before taking out a scroll and sealing it inside. He looked up and saw his elderly enemy. "Well, normal reason would state that you'd be dead, but I had a feeling you wouldn't be. However, I have no reason to be here any longer, so I'll be taking my leave. It was quite fun testing my mettle against you, however. Feel free to put me in your Bingo Book as Naruto…oh, why not Hoshigaki. Naruto Hoshigaki has a nice ring to it. Well, good-bye now!" said the young Akatsuki, all with a bright, sarcastic smile. With those last words, Danzo watched his opponent slowly melt into the very air. He didn't bother trying to chase after the young man as how can one chase wind? Instead the old man just set about cleaning up and cursing himself for his failure as well as wondering how he would explain this all to the Hokage.

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By the time Naruto returned to the hill overlooking the village, the sun was setting. A clearly very bored Kisame and a clearly very indifferent Itachi still sat patiently in the same spot as he approached brandishing the Karitoriki no Kokuyoseki.

"Kid, what the hell took you so long?"

"It's a long-ass story. Itachi there are some things that I'm sure you'd be interested to know about one Danzo Shimura."

The Uchiha gazed at him seriously. "Did you have a run-in with him?"

"You could say 'run-in' or you could say 'full-scale battle'."

Itachi blinked. "You had a full-scale battle with Danzo Shimura? The man who has been in the running for Hokage since Sarutobi took office? That man? You fought him? Do you realize how dangerous he is?"

"You sound like his mother, Itachi, lay back. If the kid managed to take him head on and come out looking like roses then I'd say that's a very good thing," said Kisame with unmistakable pride in his voice.

"Itachi-san, I don't even think _you _realize how dangerous he is, to be honest."

"What exactly do you mean by that?"

The youngest Akatsuki member then explained, in striking detail, all his findings about the horrific state of Danzo's body, as well as his escape from the **Inspired Hurricane **at the cost of five of his sharingan.

"I've only known one man who could possibly effect such experimentation in one's body."

"Orochimaru," Kisame spat disgustedly.

"Indeed. It perplexes me greatly why he, who is so incredibly conservative in defending Konoha, would collude with the village's greatest traitor that scum. And as far as the sharingan disappearing, it seems that Danzo has access to a forbidden jutsu of the Uchiha known as Izanagi, in which at the cost of a sharingan eye, one can alter reality in his favor- for example, one making it so that an otherwise fatal attack is rendered null. How he could have learned this jutsu, however, is well beyond me."

Naruto rubbed his chin, as he was apt to do when he was pondering something deeply. "This is all very interesting. Again, something it would be best to report to Leader-sama."

"But in the meantime," Kisame said, "we get to walk all the way back to Kumo! Whooooo!"

"Ok, fuck this, I am not walking all the way across the entire fucking Elemental Nations again. Would it be too disrespectful to send clones?"

"Yes, Naruto-kun, very disrespectful," spoke Itachi sagely but grudgingly.

The youngest rogue ninja sighed. This stress of this Akatsuki shit was really weighing on him. He swore that the gray hairs were already setting in.

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**Rate and review.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Ill-Fated **

**Chapter 6**

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**A Cold Start**

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The three Akatsuk membersi stood again in the office of the Raikage, returning from a successful mission. Naruto brought out a scroll and unsealed the Karitoriki no Kokuyoseki.

"Beautiful. I'm very pleased with your performance. Did you happen to run into any trouble in retrieving it?"

"None at all," answered the boy blankly.

"Well then I suppose it's only right that I tell you the truth about this sword."

"What's that?" Itachi asked, unable to mask his curiosity.

"Remember how I said that this was a legendary blade that could cut through a block of iron? That was completely made up. I mean, a legendary sword? With 'mystical' powers? Give me a break. But we managed to convince the entire shinobi world. We even made a jutsu that would cause it to have a unique chakra aura. The only reason we needed it back was because the old guys in the council were breathing down my neck."

Naruto couldn't help but sigh at this news as he considered how much he had gone through to get it, while Kisame was struggling to stifle a laugh at the boy's expense.

"Either way," the kage continued, "you'll be heavily compensated. That is the last mission I have for you all at this point in time. Again, I'm very pleased with your results and will not hesitate to hire you again."

"Thank you, Raikage-sama," Itachi spoke respectfully and bowed. "Before we depart, I would like to leave you with some information. Our organization has discovered news that Iwa is in a secret alliance with all remaining Yuga ninja, including the ones we dealt with the other day. It seems that their encampment by your borders was meant to incite you to do battle and draw you into a war. In simple terms, Iwa wishes to wage war with you and make you look like the bad guy."

Ay was surprised at this news, but only for a second, as he was well aware of Onoki's wily ways. "And why should I trust you, Akatsuki?"

"Believe me when I say that the information came from a reliable source. Also consider that we have no reason to lie to you. Furthermore, quite simply, more war means more business for us."

Ay had to admit that this was a sound argument. They truly did only have to gain from telling him the truth. "Well, Onoki should know that I have never been one to back down from a threat, nor has Kumo. I will talk to him immediately. He better hope that he has a good enough reason, and if he denies it vehemently I'll know he's lying. Thank you, Akatsuki, your help has been immeasurable."

Itachi nodded. "We will be taking our leave now."

Within the hour the youngest Akatsuki team was out of Kumogakure.

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"Itachi, will you do us a favor and report to Pain-sama about this? Naruto and I have no time to waste," Kisame said to his longtime partner. The stoic Uchiha simply nodded in response.

"What do you mean, Kisame-sensei? What are we doing?"

"You said you wanted to help with the Kiri rebellion, correct?"

He nodded his head vigorously. "Yes, absolutely, whatever I can do to help."

"Great, well now that this set of missions is over, we have some free time, so we're headed to Nami no Kuni."

"Why's that?"

"We could use some fresh recruits for our cause, so we're going to visit an old friend of mine."

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_(6 days earlier)_

A very out-of-breath shinobi collapsed on the steps of the Tsuchikage tower in Iwagakure. Some ANBU approached him to order him to state his purpose, but he was so tired he couldn't talk, but handed one of the ninja a letter. A few minutes after his objective had been completed, the young chunin collapsed of chakra exhaustion in that very spot.

But by then, Ohnoki, the Sandaime Tsuchikage, already had the letter of such massive importance in his hands, and so didn't care. He didn't make a sound until he had completely finished the letter. He then gently placed it on the desk and inhaled deeply. His ANBU commander as well as some captains stood in front of him nervously.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN ALL THE YUGA SHINOBI WERE KILLED!? HOW COULD THIS HAVE HAPPENED?! WHAT DOES HE MEAN NAMINARI NO KUNI!? WHO SENT A DETACHMENT THERE?!"

Attempting to mask his fear, the commander answered the question quickly. "Based on the description of their attackers, it would seem the Akatsuki were at the scene. As far as their position, that is the especially troubling part of this fiasco- nobody ever sent a regiment combat team of Yuga shinobi to the border of Naminari no Kuni. It would seem that someone has tampered with our messages."

Ohnoki could hardly bridle his rage. "I know precisely who did this," said the stubborn old man. "Kumo somehow managed to discover our secret alliance with Yuga, then tampered with the letter containing their orders, sending them to the border of Naminari no Kuni so they would have an excuse to attack us! I wouldn't put such underhanded tactics below Ay!" he said venomously.

"I absolutely will not let this outrage stand," the old man continued. He called his assistant. "Send word to the Raikage that we must meet immediately! We have many things to discuss! AND CHANGE THE GODDAMN MESSAGE CYPHER!" The Sandaime Tsuchikage sent away his assistant and his ANBU and began to silently brood at his desk._ I am getting to old for this shit._

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_(Present day)_

The rainbow-colored holograms of Itachi, Pain, and Sasori could all be seen in a dark room conversing. The Uchiha had just completed his squad's mission report.

"I'm pleased with Naruto-san's performance in taking on Danzo Shimura so successfully. No student of the Nidaime Hokage, and certainly not the Darkness of Shinobi, is one to be taken lightly. You also did well in inciting the Raikage, Itachi. His headstrong nature will almost certainly drive him to war. And from what I've heard from Sasori, things are looking very similar in Iwa," Pain said.

"Yes, it would seem that my home nation of Suna is behind this all. Their economy has been on the decline for years, as their daimyo began to give many missions to Konoha. Rather than attempting to attack the strongest hidden village in the world, however, they are driving Kumo and Iwa to war with each other. Once Iwa is weak, then they invade. Iwa has a tentative trade alliance with Suna, so they would never suspect their plans. I must admit, it's quite the ingenious plan. The old Tsuchikage is even angrier than his Kumo counterpart," the puppeteer explained with a chuckle.

"Indeed," Itachi returned. "What shall we do then, Pain-sama?"

"We allow events to unfold as they are. A total of five jinchurikii will be involved in the upcoming war. They will be vulnerable and ripe for the taking. Our services will undoubtedly be called upon, and when that happens we will take advantage of the chaotic conditions of battle to capture our targets."

"That will be all, Itachi-san," the Rinnegan wielder said to his subordinate. "You will have a few weeks off before your next mission."

Without a word, Itachi's image faded from the room.

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_(4 days earlier)_

In Konoha, Danzo stood in the office of the Hokage looking perfectly well-rested, totally free of any signs of having recently been in a battle. He had been sitting there for at least 45 minutes waiting for the village's leader to appear before his wish finally came true, and arrived with one other man.

"I apologize for keeping you waiting, Danzo-dono. It is my understanding that you have something urgent to tell me?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama, very urgent. A few hours ago my main ROOT facility came under attack and a prized possession, a sword of legend said to be able to cut through a block of iron, was stolen."

The bright blue eyes of Minato Senju grew wide with surprise as he now was paying extra attention to Danzo. "Who was it? How could this have happened? I don't understand!"

"He called himself Naruto Hoshigaki. I have no clue as to how he could have possibly entered the village undetected, but he did it. He then easily dispatched a number of my soldiers and took me on. I was pushed to my very limits, although I thought it was a relatively close fight. The biggest problem, however, is that he told me he is twelve years old!"

Minato's shock was clear on his face. Such a young shinobi able to take Danzo to his limits? It was simply unheard of. "Incredible. Have you ever heard of a Naruto Hoshigaki, tou-san? I sure haven't," he asked and gestured to the white-haired man beside him.

"As a matter of fact, I have. I was just meaning to inform you of him. He is the newest and by far the youngest member of Akatsuki, according to my reliable sources. He has a powerful blood limit called Teton. After recent events, it seems like he'll have to go into the Bingo Book immediately."

"I agree. He might even be a match for my Ai-chan," the kage stated thinking of his daughter against this arguable monster of shinobi.

"…"

"…"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Ohhh man, that's a good one. That's a really good one. She's had you, me, Tsunade-chan and Kushina-chan training her since she could walk. I think she would do pretty alright against this Akatsuki brat," Jiraiya stated confidently with a laugh. "That's two generations of Senju training. I mean, come on. Just come on."

"Oh. Oh. Ok. Whooo. Alright. Anything else, Danzo-dono?"Minato said as he is wiping his tears of laughter of this brat beating his daughter.

"No, no, that will be all. I'll be going now."

And the shinobi of darkness exited the Hokage tower worried that his leader would not take this threat to Konoha seriously, and so became only more determined to take the protection of his home into his own hands.

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_(3 days after present day)_

Kisame and his young apprentice were in Nami no Kuni, just outside their target building. It was a massive palace surrounded by countless non-shinobi mercenaries and a huge, ornate gate. Just before they were about to approach this main gate, Zetsu melted up out of the ground right in front of them.

"Seems you've made some friends, Naruto-san. Turn to page 27." the plant man said as he handed over the Konoha Bingo Book to the young man.

After quickly scanning the page, he threw the book up and zapped it into ashes with a Raiton jutsu. "They listed me as A rank and gave me a 2 million ryu bounty from Konoha. Bullshit," he said sourly.

Kisame laughed heartily. "Hey, it's ok, kid, at least you're going places. Thanks for that, Zetsu."

"No problem. See, I told you he'd like it, Black Zetsu."

"**Whatever, let's go, they have things to do as do we.**" They quickly melted away and Naruto felt their presence disappear.

"Alright, Kisame-sensei, so we're gonna start out with the diplomatic approach, correct?"

"That's right, we don't necessarily have a quarrel with this guy, so we're not going to waste our time dealing with all these weaklings."

They walked to the gate but were stopped by a couple of guards. "What's your business here?"

"We just want to talk to Gato."

"Not a chance fish fuck!"

Naruto was about to respond with a logically sound argument as to why they should be allowed in but by the time he got his first word out, Kisame had already ripped both the guards open with his sword.

"Don't look at me like that, it couldn't be helped. He called me a fricken' fish fuck even I don't what he meant!"

The Teton user just shook his head as he heard the alarm being raised and ran to confront all those mercenaries.

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Five minutes later, the two Akatsuki stood over Gato's still-intact body. Naruto had killed him with a genjutsu.

"Seal away his body. This is the perfect way to kill him, as now we'll get the maximum bounty. Kakuzu would be proud, this guy has millions upon millions on his head. We also got my friend's current location, but he won't be there forever, so let's go."

The two criminals quickly shunshined away.

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Not much longer and the two were at a bridge at the border of Nami. The moment they got there they noticed two battles going on. They made no attempt at hiding themselves and instead jumped right in between all the ninja there. Immediately both skirmishes ended and all eyes were on them.

"Well, if it isn't Kisame Hoshigaki," said one shirtless man with bandages over his face.

"Zabuza, so good to see you again! And is that- Kakashi of the sharingan? The famed Copy Ninja? Zabuza, you didn't really think you could take him on did you?"

"Don't be so rude, Kisame. I'm sure it was a close fight," input Naruto.

"Hey, are you Naruto Hoshigaki? You're in the newest Konoha bingo book," Kakashi said, surprised.

"Boy, the stars are really aligning today. This is great and all, but we have to get back to fighting."

"Actually, you don't," Naruto answered as he unsealed the dead body of Gato.

Kakashi just raised his eyebrow. "Alright, Sasuke, Sakura, get over here, our mission is over. But these Akatsuki are worrying me…"

"Oh don't worry, we're not here for you, this is about our buddy Zabuza. But did you say Sasuke?" Kisame asked with great curiosity.

Sure enough, within their line of sight came a boy with black hair and blood red sharingan eyes.

"Hey, it's Itachi-sensei's little brother. Seems a little weak, though, don't you think?"

"What did you say? What do you know about my brother, tell me right now!"

"Well someone's a little extra feisty today," Kisame shot back.

"If you won't tell me, I'll make you!"

"Sasuke, no!" his sensei yelled but was too late. The arrogant Uchiha was speeding toward Kisame. Without a hint of effort, the Hoshigaki just swung his sword and nailed the boy sending him flying back to his sensei. Naruto hadn't even moved.

"How pathetic. Itachi-sensei would be ashamed. It's beyond me why he allowed you to live," Naruto said with disgust.

After the massive wound to his pride and his chest, Sasuke obeyed his sensei's command to retreat, but not before leaving the Akatsuki with a message- "Tell my older brother that I _will _kill him, and soon." Then all the Konoha ninja were gone along with the civilian who had been with them but had said nothing. Now it was only Naruto, Kisame, Zabuza and a girl who looked to be exactly Naruto's age standing on the bridge.

"By the way, this is Haku. Haku, this is Kisame Hoshigaki, a former associate of mine, and his partner, who seems to be named Naruto…"

"Just Naruto."

"Alright. Well, what do you want? Last I checked we weren't exactly on the best terms, Kisame, not on Secret Santa terms and certainly not on get-together terms. And what's with you killing my employer?"

"Well, the killing was to free you of any other 'obligations'. As for why we're here, this is for the sake of Kiri."

Immediately the Demon dropped into a defensive stance. "If you're here to try to take me back to that place you better be ready for one hell of a fight."

The shark-man chuckled. "You misunderstand. We do want to take you back, but not to hand you over to Yagura. The rebellion is growing in strength, and we could really use a very strong shinobi like you to help us. Come help liberate your village, Zabuza."

The Demon of Kirigakure thought about this for a second. "As long as killing that bastard Yagura is part of the deal, I'm all in."

"That's absolutely part of the deal. If you'll come with us, we're headed to the heart of the rebellion right now."

Zabuza bent down to his young companion. "How do you feel about this, Haku?"

"I would very much appreciate the opportunity to fight for the freedom of my home, Zabuza-sama."

"Alright then, it's settled. I mean it's not like we have anywhere else to go."

So the new group of four began the relatively short trek to Mizu no Kuni.

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The four Kiri natives descended onto the ruins of a village on the island of Ome, just to the east of the mainland of Mizu no Kuni.

"This village was one of the very first to be purged when the slaughters first began," Kisame explained. "The leaders of the rebellion figured there was no better place to set up an HQ than one that had already been decimated by the Yagura loyalists."

Sure enough, the place was in tremendous disrepair, as they had yet to come across a house among the many ruins that was fully intact.

They still had a bit of walking before they reached their destination, so the blue-skinned man pressed his student with a question that had been bothering him. "Hey, kid, why does your Bingo Book page say Naruto _Hoshigaki_?"

"Because that's what I told Danzo to put. I mean I had to tell them something, and I guess you're the closest thing I've ever had to a father or big brother," he slid in casually and without even facing the man he was talking to.

Kisame wore the briefest, but sincerest, smile imaginable, but Zabuza, who was walking just behind, took notice. _So the heartless Monster of Kiri cares for the boy. You're treading on some thin ice there, pal._

Meanwhile the Hoshigaki was in deep thought. _Do I tell the kid? If he finds out I knew but didn't tell him, it'll get ugly. But at the same time-_

His train of thought was interrupted when a man with an eye-patch, earrings, and blue hair wearing the standard gray garb of the rebellion appeared before them.

"Greetings, Kisame-sama, Zabuza-sama, and…others. I am Ao, please follow me to the headquarters."

Naruto shook his head at the man not knowing who he was. But he shook it even more when he saw the setup of the outside of the HQ. It was precisely identical to the ROOT compound, right down to the two guards outside and the fingerprint seal on the shabby door. Sure enough, the door opened to reveal an elevator.

_I'll really have to have a word with Mei-shushou about this, _he thought with a sigh.

After pressing the button for the bottom floor (_sigh_), the group of five found themselves in a dimly-lit, cramped space which was chock-full of shinobi.

After shuffling through the chaotic hustle-and-bustle, Ao retreated into a side office, into which they all followed him.

The first sight they saw was an unbelievably beautiful auburn-haired lady sitting at her desk and wearing the same gray uniform as Ao.

"Kisame, so good to see you! I see you completed your mission with flying colors. It's a pleasure to meet you, Zabuza-san, I've heard great things. Thank you for joining us."

"Likewise," the Demon responded.

"Oh, and this must be Naruto-kun. Kisame, you didn't mention he would be so cute and…sexy," she said seductively and winked at the young Akatsuki. All in the room, especially Mei, expected the boy to melt into a puddle as a result of the extremely attractive woman's flirtatious efforts.

"Yo," he returned with his usual stoic demeanor. Everyone but him noticed Mei's eye twitch violently from the embarrassment and shame of being rejected by a twelve-year-old. But the seasoned kunoichi recovered and moved on.

"And who is this beautiful little thing," she said and looked at Haku with a lovely smile. The younger kunoichi blushed heavily at this wonderful compliment, as nobody had ever told her anything even approaching that before.

"This is Haku," Zabuza answered. "She is my…daughter. And a capable kunoichi already." He looked down to gauge her response and saw that her eyes widened in disbelief, if only for a second. Whether it was the positive or negative form of disbelief he would have to learn later.

"Well it's wonderful to meet you, Haku-chan."

"Ok, now that we've all been introduced, I'd like to say something about the security measures being taken here. To be frank, not only are they stereotypical, but shamefully inadequ-"

Naruto was harshly cut off by the sound of a very loud explosion coming from the elevator, then an alarm that was way too loud and obnoxious going off throughout the base. Mei ran out to figure out what was going on as the chaos outside had turned to mass hysteria with people scrambling to get into various positions to face the oncoming threat.

"…ate." Naruto could only sigh yet again at the sight of the pathetic disorganization of his fellow freedom fighters. _This is so much worse than I thought…_

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**Rate and Review.**


	7. AN

**Ill-Fated**

**AN**

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This is an AN to address the recent comments in the review. I promise that using a chapter solely for an AN will be a one-time thing, but it's possible that I won't be posting for a while and I wanted to stop any issues before they spread too much. Mystolon's review and Batros940's review provide good arguments but they are flawed for a few reasons since there are some things that they missed and most likely others have as well but not have voiced their opinion. Thank you for taking the time to share your opinion, however, as discussion concerning my stories is something I'll always promote.

**Mystolon:** First, lighting charged weapons can cut through other non-enhanced weapons, however there has been no such diamond hard material shown or heard of to be cut by a lightning weapon or even jutsu. Lighting release is done through increasing the high frequency vibrations of their chakra, allowing for piercing damage and fast movement not for cutting and slicing damage like for wind release. The densest object sliced through by a sword in the series would be the iron doors defending the southern hideout cut by the executioner's blade in the Karin retrieval mission. Now imagine that doors' density times 50 and you have the block of iron that the sword can cut through without elemental chakra flow. Then again it is a dream sword for that reason alone since cutting a block of iron that dense is impossible without magical powers.

The issues you have with the bloodline are nearly irrelevant for the following reasons. Your Kakazu example is only partially correct. He can move away from the smoke of Shikamaru's explosive tag while his arm is still hard because only his arm is hardened. Later in the fight when Choji uses **Spiky Human Boulder** he is forced to harden his entire body indicated by the iron looking skin covering his arms and face, but the trade-off is that he cannot move from whatever position he is in as seen when he readjusts himself to talk to Shikamaru after his skin returns back to his normal tone indicating that he deactivated the jutsu to move. Additionally it is a jutsu only known to Kakazu whereas the **Earth Release Armor** is a well-known jutsu where the user covers their body with stones but it is much weaker than Kakazu's **Earth Release: Earth Spear**, however the user has free mobility even at the cost of speed as seen in episode 196. Your second point on how weak the bloodline seems to "normal" iron/steel weapons is not true as shown in the fight in the bandit camp in chapter 5, as well as the Danzo fight in chapter 6, as Danzo is surprised when his **Mokuton** is easily stopped by the Teton dome for an important reason that will be revealed later on. Also in chapter 5 the iron armor technique used does have weakness to fire and lightning jutsu, however his bloodline skill is going to increase as he can now freely train it since he is no longer in the Mist training facility. Lastly the bloodline will be explained in depth later on in the story when Naruto has to fight an equal level opponent.

**Batros940**: I looked at the suffix issue and well safe to say it is a difficult thing to find actual concrete evidence without looking too deep into but I assure you "Danzo-dono" is the correct term however if Danzo spoke to Minato as "Minato-dono" it would have been wrong. The suffix "dono" in Naruto is used to denote that the person you are speaking to is in a similar position of power as yourself. This is seen clearly twice in the series, once in episode 197, when Danzo refers to the Raikage as "Raikage-dono". In 199, Temari and Kankurou are also referred to with "-dono", but earlier Gaara is called "kazekage-sama". The scene in 199 clearly reveals the logic between the use of "dono" and "sama". When Gaara is refered to as "Kazekage-sama" the speaker is a kunoichi whom is beneath Gaara in political power. When Temari and Kankuro are called by the suffix "dono" the speaker is a member of the council that they are both a part of as seen in episode 2 by the distinct clothes they wear. That example revels the usage of "dono" when referring to political colleagues. In our story Danzo is a public leader of the village with his ROOT ANBU and is much older than Minato thus the both polite and politically correct suffix used is "dono" even though Danzo is in a lower position than Minato. Danzo then in turn should recognize his position and refer to Minato as "sama", however since Danzo is not the type of character to easily submit in political power he will speak to Minato without any suffix to avoid publically displaying his recognition of Minato's dictator-like power over the entire village and especially his ROOT ANBU.

Finally, I really appreciate the positive reviews! It makes me feel really good to know that people are enjoying my work.

Thanks for your comments since they lead to good discussions and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story! :)


	8. Chapter 7

Ill-Fated

Chapter 7

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**The Commander**

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Panic seized the entire base except for the section in which Naruto and his companions stood. Shouts of "THEY'RE ATTACKING THEY'RE GONNA FUCKING KILL US" shot incessantly throughout the area. Mei was attempting to organize her troops to no avail; they either didn't hear her or ignored her as they shoved each other aside in the cramped space to get to their respective destinations.

Finally their leader had had enough. "EVERYONE SHUT THE FUCK UP!" she screamed with authority as she leaked a monstrous amount of chakra and KI. Sure enough, everyone in the room was silent immediately and gazing reverently toward their leader. "Thank you. There is no attack," she continued. "A gasket must have blown in the ele- SOMEONE SHUT OFF THAT DAMN SIREN!"

Motivated by fear unlike any other, a faceless chunin sped to a sector of the base and shut the alarm off within seconds.

"Thank you again. As I was saying, a gasket must have blown in the elevator, as I sense no enemies outside and there has been no follow-up 'attack' at all." Several of the sensors in the room nodded as they realized that Mei was right. "Ao, look for someone to fix that, and the rest of you return to your duties."

A unanimous response of "Hai, Mei-shushou!" rang through as the previous chaos continued as though it had never ended. Pleased, the Yoton user nodded and gracefully resumed her seat on the desk in front of her newest soldiers. "Now where were we?" she inquired casually.

Throughout the duration of the episode, Naruto's jaw was dropped. To say that the young man was appalled would have been a gross understatement. "You're ok with that!? Are you kidding!? That was the most pathetic display of organization and mental awareness I've ever seen!" _Which admittedly isn't saying much, considering the amount of time I've spent out in the world, _he mentally conceded.

"Whoa, slow down, kid. Watch who you're talking to," Kisame warned. _I've never seen him get so animated about anything. _"I apologize for his behavior, Mei."

The general sighed in response. "Unfortunately, he's right. I've been far too concerned with logistics and assigning missions to give our troops any proper training. Clearly they need it sorely."

A split second later, Naruto had made up his mind. "I will train them."

Everyone in the room looked at him confusedly. "What does some kid know about training an army?" a jonin in the corner said under his breath with a scoff. However, the comment was not lost on the Teton user.

"I encourage you to realize that I can destroy you in a matter of seconds. Anyway," he continued as the jonin swallowed hard and muttered something inaudible about bratty kids, "I am perfectly capable of training any number of people. My familiarity with training methods is diverse and immense. I can use my shadow clones to split the army up into manageable sections and give them more specific training that caters more exactly to their abilities."

Mei was very impressed at the boy before her. _His ambition is incredible, and he's a powerful young ninja to boot. _After thinking about it for a minute or two, she had decided. "Very well, Naruto. You may train my army."

Just as she had said that, Ao had rushed into the room. "What do you mean? Why can't I train the army?"

Mei laughed. "You're far too valuable as my personal assistant. But in any other situation, you absolutely could."

Ao bowed humbly. "Very well, Mei-shushou. I look forward to seeing your results, boy," the one-eyed man said as he looked at Naruto.

"Thank you very much," the young man said with a bow. "However, I have other ideas to improve the current state of your army."

"Do you now? Please do tell."

"Just one thing. I see no reason to have an underground base. It's cool and practical in theory, sure, but in reality it's quite the opposite. I mean, look out there."

As if on cue, one person among the mob tripped, inevitably causing everyone else in the extremely congested group to fall as well, a domino effect of people piling up.

"It's embarrassing, but more importantly, it's wildly inefficient. Using my Teton, I can build a much larger and fully functioning base _above _ground. It will be fully fitted with the strongest fortifications which will guarantee that any loyalist attempt at an assault here will be a pyrrhic victory at best, as well as a multi-layered genjutsu- we could lead the enemy straight to this place and tell them it's here and they wouldn't believe us.

Mei was beyond floored. "Can you really do all of this yourself? This sounds like…well, a lot."

"I'm very determined to do this. I have the willpower, the brainpower, and the chakra. It can be done, and I believe within a few days."

"Well, I'm already impressed, just by your audacity. I will let you follow through with this. In fact, I'd like you to train them twice a day starting within the hour. Ao, gather everyone in the courtyard. As they get assembled, I'll explain to you all the plans I have for you."

She pulled out a map of the country and laid it on the desk as Ao left. She placed Naruto, Kisame, Zabuza and Haku leaned forward so they could get a good look at it. They watched as Mei placed many small, red flags on the map, and one blue flag all the way to the right.

"These flags represent the current state of Mizu no Kuni in this war. The blue flag represents the area under rebel control, which of course right now consists only of the island of Ome. The red flags refer to cities and islands under Yagura's control, which consist of, well, everything else. Obviously we are at a massive geographical disadvantage. You can refer to the legend on the right to see what exactly the islands hold. (**AN: Don't worry, I won't expect you to rely totally on your imagination for the geography. I made a sketch of the map of Kiri from the Naruto wikia with all the labels that Mei's map would have so that you can follow along; this will be posted before too long. Once the war truly starts, I would suggest having this map open in another window as you read for easy reference. All names are totally made up, but the geography is exact.**)

"This will be a three-campaign war," she continued. "I will be leading 50,000 troops to the mainland. Kisame, I've decided that you will lead 30,000 troops in a campaign in the southern islands. Although I have yet to decide, someone will be leading the other 20,000 of our 100,000 troops into the northern islands. However, I might have an idea as to the leader of this regiment," she said and winked suggestively at Naruto. "Obviously these are rough numbers, but you get the idea. There's no reason to delve into exact plans at the moment, but for the most part the regiments that I'm not leading will be island hopping."

"I see that a few of these are labeled as prisons. Were all the bloodline users not exterminated?" Zabuza inquired curiously.

"Evidently not, Zabuza-san. Many of them, perhaps as many as 50,000 total according to our intelligence, were split into three work camps across the islands. These will be among our first targets because they'll be sure to add a massive surge of troops for our cause." She looked at her new recruits who were all nodding their heads in understanding.

"I'd like to assume we'll not always just be shoved in with the regulars," Kisame said with his trademark devious grin.

Mei smiled. "Of course not, Kisame-kun. While you will spend a lot of time in 'normal' battles, you'll be doing occasional missions in your groups of two's, such as destroying a loyalist weapons cache or assassinating an authority figure of theirs. Any other questions?"

Everyone shook their head and looked at each other.

"Great! I suggest you three get settle in, while you, Naruto-kun, get to the training. I'm excited to see the results you yield."

The Teton user headed out of the office with a devious smile that mirrored his sensei's. "Haku," he called over casually. "Come with me."

She was shocked for a split second but soon recovered herself. "Uhm, ok." They soon walked out only followed by a lethal glare from Zabuza which didn't go unnoticed by his fellow swordsman.

"Uh oh-"

"Shut up, Kisame. Don't act like I'm the only one with feelings invested in that relationship which will never happen as long as I live!"

If the shark-man could visibly blush he would have just then.

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Naruto emerged from the base and went straight to work. He made four shadow clones- one to head over to the training, three to work on the walls, while the real Naruto went with Haku. The two of them ran off to find a secluded area. Before long they were there.

"Excuse me, Naruto-san, but do you plan to train me?"

An uncharacteristic smile shone on the young man's face. But, of course, Haku knew nothing of his personality. "Yep, and call me Naruto. There's no need for those formalities, especially considering we're going to be working together for probably a long while. How about we be friends?"

The Hyoton user was uncomfortable. _Friends? What? _"Uh, well, I suppose that would be fine."

"You're not alone, you know."

"I'm sorry?"

"You're not the only one who's never had a friend, unless you count Itachi-san as a friend, which is like counting a statue as a friend. And the closest thing I've had to family is Kisame-sensei, at least ever since…well never mind."

Haku was overwhelmed, and it was evident on her face. The Teton wielder cursed himself. _Goddamit, I came on too strong._

"I apologize, I understand that was a lot to throw at you all at once. You don't have to-

"No, no. I was just…surprised is all. I would very much like to be your friend. You didn't quite strike me as the friend type, though."

"What can I say? We all need somebody to lean on." He had been beaming this whole time, a proverbial lighthouse of outward happiness. "So, friends?"

The girl was perceptive; she considered the fact that all of a sudden, he seemed the jolliest man alive, quite a deviation from the stoic silence he maintained earlier. However, she attributed it to the presence of the Monster and Demon of Kiri and quickly dismissed the thought. "Friends," she answered with a hint of a smile.

"Great. Now let's get stronger." His lips couldn't help but form an inconspicuous yet seemingly malicious grin. _Only a matter of time now._

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The shadow clone which was heading up the training ran to the front of the massive group of shinobi which had amassed on the waters in the Bay of Ome Island. Large ships belonging to the navy in their docks provided the backdrop for the makeshift training ground.

_Holy shit, it looks like every ninja on the island is here. _The shadow clone found Ao at the front awaiting him.

"How many ninja are here?" Naruto began.

"Nearly all of the roughly 100,000."

"Seems my work is cut out for me."

"Nothing you can't handle, I presume?" the elite jonin asked sarcastically with a wry grin.

The boy gave him a look. "Feel free to go, I've got things handled from here."

"Very well," Ao responded and shunshined away.

Once the one-eyed man had gone, Naruto looked out at all the soldiers. They were totally disorganized, mulling about, talking loudly. He used a jutsu to amplify his voice greatly to address the crowd after raising himself up very high on a pedestal formed with iron.

"Silence!" he boomed. Suddenly all murmuring stopped and all eyes gazed upon the tall young man with the black cloak with red clouds and a gold chain, a chain which Naruto suddenly realized was nearly choking him. _I've had this thing for years. Kami, I really need a new one._

"I am Naruto Hoshigaki. I have been assigned by Mei-shushou to train you all, as it's become clear to her and me that you desperately need it."

One particularly stupid chunin who clearly had never heard of the Akatsuki and who did not realize that the person he was addressing was several inches taller than him and able to destroy him in seconds decided it was a good idea to voice his disapproval. Inexplicably, he knew the same voice-enhancing jutsu, so everyone could hear him.

"Who the hell are you to boss us around, you little brat!?"

As though he had been expecting this, Naruto, without hesitation, caught him by his vest from the back with an iron spike which emerged from underneath the chunin. The spike lifted him up to within view of everyone, and the boy manipulated some liquid iron onto his hands which quickly solidified, preventing the chunin from performing hand signs to substitute away; and all this, despite the rebel Kiri shinobi being quite far away.

"Do you all see this?" the young Akatsuki continued, almost without missing a beat. "This, fellow countrymen, is insolence. I certainly have no time for it; nor do you. But do you know who, undoubtedly, has the very least amount of time to be spared for such antics? Your brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, lovers, children, being either slaughtered on sight, or, for the less fortunate, being slowly worked to death in a prison camp. Why are these souls less fortunate, you ask? Because they must bear the insufferable and hopeless agony of depending upon trash like this-"he pointed toward the elevated, horribly embarrassed chunin- "for liberty; liberty which is sure never to come. That is of course, unless some significant change is wrought among this army. It is precisely my job to bring about that very change which will save your loved ones. All you need do is obey my every command." He paused. "Now are there any who would oppose that change?"

Crickets.

"Excellent. Now I'd like all the elite jonin to come up here. Meanwhile, the rest of you split yourselves into three groups- genin on your left, chunin in the center, and jonin on the right." He released the chunin.

Seconds later, eleven ninja stood in front of him. _Wow, more than I thought. _"Hold on for just one second," he said more quietly to them, then spoke again to the crowd.

"Now, staying separated by rank, split each group into three more groups- close-range fighters in the front, mid-range fighters behind them, and long-range fighters in the back." _They're moving pretty efficiently, I suppose I motivated them sufficiently._

He turned to the jonin once again. "Who among you are the two strongest?"

One man confidently raised his hand and nobody challenged him, but instead looked over to another one- a nervous-looking young man who didn't seem too much older than Naruto. He had blue hair like Ao's and wore glasses. He was skinny and strapped to his back was a sword which the Teton user positively identified as one of those of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.

"Chojuro here is almost certainly the second strongest out of us, but he's extremely shy," commented the man who was apparently the strongest with a faint frown. "If you can get him confident, though, he's a formidable ninja."

"I see," their temporary ninja responded thoughtfully and inspected the silent swordsman for a bit. "Is there someone you love, Chojuro-san?"

He blushed as red as a rose. "Uh…uh…"

Naruto smirked. _Nailed it. _"Well, let's just pretend you do. The only way you can protect her and impress her is to get much stronger- on the battlefield, sure, but far more importantly, as a person. Most women love a self-confident man who can protect her and provide for her. If you can be that for this woman that you theoretically love, she'll be all yours. Got it?"

"Uh…uh…uhm…"

"Just think about it." Naruto looked again to his troops. "Ok, seems like they're all split up. You nine are to lead one group each in training. Here's a regiment I scribbled together on the way over here." He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and cloned it so that each of the nine had one. "Each group has a different regiment, as labeled on your paper. Obviously since they're clones, every paper has the regiment for every group, so feel free to discuss amongst yourselves which group out of the nine you think best fits your individual style. We don't have time to make every one of these soldiers to become great shinobi- we only have time to make them better at the things they're already best at.

"I'll leave a clone here to watch over the training and answer any questions. While that is underway, you two come with me. Chojuro and…"

"Jei. Ex-ANBU commander of Kiri. Fortunately, I only got fired from my post and excommunicated to Nami no Kuni because of my kekkei genkai, although they claimed it was because of treason, but that was bullshit and they knew it. Those were the days when we were only quietly discriminated against, not openly persecuted."

"Wonderful. We'll all be training together elsewhere. Call me selfish, but I need to get stronger. I suppose I'll learn your kekkei genkai as we spar." A few minutes later they stopped a good distance away from the soldiers, where they appeared as only specks on the horizon.

"This'll do." He made several shadow clones.

"In case you weren't aware, I am a shadow clone; my original self has other preoccupations. I'll keep one shadow clone nearby to make more clones in case I disperse. The rest will go off to work on my kekkei genkai manipulation."

"You have one as well?" Chojuro inquired curiously and quietly.

"I certainly do, but you'll just have to wait and see. Alright, let's get a good distance away from each other." They each lowered into their respective stance and unsheathed their swords, two katanas and one wide, double-hilted sword, its blade wrapped in bandages. All three eyed each other carefully.

"Begin!"

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Haku was down on one knee, one hand on the ground, barely preventing her from collapsing, while her other as over her heart, which ached with every breath. She struggled to pick her head up and gaze at her opponent. Naruto stood calmly over her with his hand extended to help her up.

_He's not beat up at all, _she thought in amazement. _Forget that- he's not even out of breath! I used my best jutsu on him and he beat it like it was nothing. He didn't even have to…_

Suddenly she collapsed from exhaustion. Naruto's inhuman speed, however, allowed him to catch her in his arms before hit the hard ground. He frowned as he felt her forehead and looked her over.

_Damn, she's knocked out. I pushed her too hard. _Carrying Haku bridal style, Naruto sped off to the private condo that yet another group of clones should be around finishing by now to recover her to consciousness.

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Naruto immediately sped off in the direction of Jei, hoping to knock out the hardest competition first. Coincidentally, it seemed the old ANBU had had the same thought, as he rushed toward him as well.

The boy took a swing of his katana at the man's head, having no reservations about going for the kill. Jei ducked underneath it and used his momentum to try to strike the boy in his gut with an extended elbow, but he jumped back just in time. The older man didn't relent though, but continued to come at the boy with his katana up.

Until now, Chojuro had been content to stay back and wait, but he decided now was the time to strike. "**Suiton: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!**" The ensuing wave crashed toward Jei as he neared Naruto and almost caught him, but he managed to substitute with water far enough away.

"Guess the kenjutsu didn't last long," Naruto said with a grin as he made some hand signs. "**Raiton: Splicing Current!**" From his hands emerged a large wave of lightning which immediately spread through the ocean water. Both Chojuro and Jei were forced to do something as the current was heading straight for them at alarming speed.

"**Futon: Wind Wall!**" yelled Jei, and due to the elemental advantage it stopped the current. Meanwhile, Chojuro was much more aggressive.

He shunshined directly next to Naruto, loaded his sword with chakra and leapt at him. The Teton user barely had time to turn toward him and make an iron bar which sent the Swordsman flying back before he could strike.

_Kami, the chakra coming off that thing was off the charts! There's no telling what might have happened if he had landed that. I am definitely not letting him get that close again._

Meanwhile, Jei was wrapping up another jutsu: "**Suiton: Water Dragon Bullets!**" The dragon shot everything it had directly at Naruto.

_Fuck, I've got to get off the defensive. _**"Teton: Graceful Dome!**" he shouted with just a raise of his hand toward the bullets.

Jei was impressed. _That's a very interesting kekkei genkai he's got there. Guess it's time to show mine off._

Chojuro and Naruto were now both rushing toward him simultaneously. He threw together some hand signs that the Akatsuki noticed as being vaguely similar to some he had seen before.

"**Hyoton: Atmospheric Subzero!**"

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**Another Yuki clan member!? Whaaaaat? Insanity.**

**Sorry about this chapter being pretty dry, especially after the long break, but it had to be done. I decided to move up the fight so it wasn't all just talk. BTW BarelySage's story Adventures of an Anbu Trainee in Ch.5 is giving away a sneak peek to future chapters in this story and it may answer some questions on your mind.**

**Rate and Review. **


	9. Chapter 8

Ill-Fated

Chapter 8

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**The Snake and The Sword**

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"**Hyoton: Atmospheric Subzero!**"

_What?! A Yuki? _Naruto mentally yelled. The second the name of the jutsu was yelled, the air itself began to freeze around Jei in the direction of his two opponents. Its range and speed was such that it resembled a tsunami of frozen air, even freezing the ocean water underneath them.

The Teton user struggled to stop his momentum going toward Jei. When he stopped, his head still carried forward, and he could feel his obsidian hair freezing instantaneously at its tips. He put together hand signs that Jei would later swear were the fastest he had ever seen and called out his jutsu with the greatest of urgency: "**Katon: Fire Cloak!**"

The amount of chakra put into the cloak caused the intensity of its heat to be able to effectively counter the frozen air. _If I lacked such tremendous chakra reserves, even with this jutsu, the ice would still have frozen me over. Thank Kami Itachi-san taught me some Katon._

Without another thought, he used his incredible speed to rush to Chojuro and save him, anticipating that he would be in trouble. Sure enough, the swordsman was gazing unblinkingly at the ice careering toward him until his sparring partner grabbed and carried him out of harm's way. Finally, Jei canceled the jutsu.

"Whoo! That was a close one, huh?" he yelled with a grin to his fellow rebels.

"P-p-erhaps you went slightly overboard, Jei-san," Chojuro sputtered.

"You're a Yuki?" Naruto inquired with great curiosity, ignoring what had just happened and the subsequent comment.

"Indeed, the last and, many have said, the greatest. I was fortunate enough to be in Nami when the slaughter of my clan occurred."

"You may very well be the greatest of your clan, but you're quite incorrect on the bit about being the last," Naruto mused knowingly.

The ex-ANBU commander was more perplexed than anything. "What? What do you mean?"

"I mean that I arrived here with another member of the Yuki clan. In fact she's training with my original right now."

Jei's jaw dropped. "Where?! Where is she? Tell me!"

"Kami, man, relax. She's at a training ground about a mile south of the base."

The man nodded. "Ok, it was great sparring, hope to do it again soon!" With that he disappeared with the quickest shunshin he ever performed.

"I suppose my time here is done too," the clone said turning to Chojuro. "See you around." A puff of smoke and the shy swordsman was alone.

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The original Naruto sat next to an unconscious kunoichi who was laying on a bed. He was gently applying a warm, damp cloth to her forehead when she stirred and slowly awoke.

"Finally awake, huh?" he whispered softly. At the sound and sight of him, she shot up out of the bed in shock and looked about.

"Where am I?" she said with more than a bit of panic.

"Calm down, calm down. It's ok. I took you to my room to recover after you passed out from exhaustion after our spar. Please lay back down."

After processing the information and accepting it, she complied. "Why are you going through so much trouble to take care of me, especially after my shameful showing of strength?" she asked hesitantly.

"Because that's what friends do, Haku," he responded with a smile in that same soothing voice as he continued to apply the cloth ever so gently to her head.

The Hyoton user had to smile and blush lightly at this. Having a friend truly was incredible. In her memory, no one had ever been so gentle and caring toward her, not in the entirety of her unfortunate life. She had been stiff and uncomfortable, but finally she gave in to Naruto's soft touch and voice and relaxed. The bed was comfortable; the blanket soft and warm. Despite having just passed out from exhaustion, she felt more relaxed and refreshed than ever. Then she looked over at her caretaker.

She suddenly realized that he was shirtless. He must have removed his Akatuski cloak upon entering, and perhaps wasn't wearing a shirt underneath. Indeed, after having spikes emerge so often from one's body, shirts became more a nuisance than anything. Completely forgetting that he was watching her every move, her eyes drifted along the contours of his torso. All those years of training had turned the young man into nothing less than an ideal physical specimen. His broad chest, strong muscular arms, striking abs, and the way his dark obsidian hair framed his deep blue eyes were all working together to draw Haku into a hypnotic gaze. A secret wish emerged from the deepest caverns of her heart, that maybe, just maybe-

Naruto's head snapped up suddenly, breaking Haku's trance.

"Is something wrong?" she asked with a noticeable tinge of sadness that she prayed went unperceived by her new friend.

"A very…interesting development has occurred. It seems someone wishes to see you, and I can nearly guarantee that you will be just as interested in seeing him. I'll have to send another clone to meet him since we're not at the training ground." A familiar hand sign was made and another Naruto appeared in the room. The clone immediately took off from the place with remarkable alacrity.

"Who could possibly wish to see me?"

The Teton user smirked. "You'll just have to wait and see."

After the initial shock, she realized there was no point in conjecture and decided not to think about it anymore until the person arrived. She remembered what she had been thinking about previously and a significant blush formed on her face. But soon she stopped herself.

_What am I thinking? I'm not attracted to him. Damn hormones._

Ten minutes later a man wearing a variation of the Kiri rebel armor that was all black instead of gray burst through the door and his eyes fell on Haku.

"Is this her?" he asked Naruto impatiently, who nodded in response.

"Are you the one who's here to see me?" the kunoichi inquired with great curiosity.

Jei knelt down by the bed so that he was right in front of her. "Do you know who I am?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't."

"My name is Jei…Yuki."

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_(That night)_

Naruto was alone in his condo, a lovely and quite expansive space with high ceilings and an even larger adjacent area for private training. The entire building was surrounded in privacy seals, disallowing sounds from both within and outside the room, as well as seals which alerted the young man to anyone who entered.

He was currently in the training area, working on his chakra control. He had realized that in order to perfect his Teton armor, he would have to be able to manipulate it so that it molded completely with his skin, as well as developing a Teton variation of the Doton jutsu that causes objects to weigh significantly less.

He was attempting to perform the latter to the point of being second nature when he was contacted through the telepathic link of the **Body Lantern Jutsu. **Seconds later, his projection was present in a room with that of Kisame, Itachi, and Pain. The leader spoke first.

"Greetings, Naruto. Kisame-san has been updating me on the current status of the rebellion. It would seem that you two are in for quite a bit of hard work."

"It certainly does. However, I am quite confident that this army will successfully defeat Yagura's forces."

"Very well. I have gathered you three here to relate a few recent occurrences. First, the war between Kumo and Iwa has developed as well as could be expected. The two kage are stubborn as mules; the war is now all but underway as both villages are scrambling to gather resources and allies. Suna will surely grow impatient and show its hand before long, and it is unlikely that Konoha will be able to stay out of the war and maintain its neutrality once Suna begins to mobilize its forces. A domino effect will almost certainly occur and before long, the entirety of the elemental nations will be at war. I am willing to wager that each side will hedge a bet in the Kiri civil war and its outcome will heavily influence the outcome of the war between the elemental nations of the west, so do not be alarmed should come lands offer to aid you. Such are the current affairs of that war.

"Second, I have decided to allow you three- yes, three, since Itachi will be left without a partner otherwise- to focus the majority of your efforts on the Kiri civil war. All the other bijuu will be vulnerable during the western war; the same goes for the Sanbi during yours. This will be the only opportunity to capture it with any ease. If we were to wait for the war to be over, his status as kage would mean that his entire village would defend him, which is simply something too bothersome to deal with. As matters are now, your participation in the war would leave him as vulnerable as all the other bijuu. However, it is _absolutely imperative _that you do not kill him. Wasting three of our members on a war that will most likely last several years, only to be forced to wait several more afterward for the bijuu to reform, would be incredibly frustrating. However, you will still occasionally need to perform other tasks for the Akatsuki, such as the one I will now inform you of.

"The third and final matter: Zetsu has managed to locate Orochimaru. You three are to take the 'sky' ring from him, and, if possible, dispose of him. However, this is a secondary objective and is not absolutely necessary.

"Questions?"

No response.

"Very well. Make haste to Ta no Kuni. Zetsu will inform you of the specifics once you arrive."

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After hastily packing, Naruto began to head for the gate to meet Kisame when he decided to check in on someone.

_Kisame-sensei will have to inform Mei-shushou of our departure, so I have a bit of time. _He walked toward a nearby condo that was not quite as large as his. The Teton user had decided that it would be unfair for only him to have private quarters, so he made one each for Zabuza, Kisame and Haku as well.

_It's not too late so she should still be awake. _He knocked lightly on the wooden door of the other condo. When he knocked, however, it sounded like metal, giving away that it was, in fact, made of iron, despite its appearance. Before long it creaked open and a head with beautiful black hair popped out.

"Oh, hello, Naruto. I didn't expect to see you at this hour, come on in." Obliging, the Teton user entered and after being offered a seat, gracefully took it.

"I didn't get a chance to thank you for making these little condos for us. They're very nice," she said politely.

"Of course, it was no trouble at all. I actually just stopped by to check in and let you know that I'll be gone for a couple of weeks. The Akatsuki have contacted Kisame-sensei and I for an urgent mission."

"Oh, that's too bad. I was hoping to have you around more."

Naruto smiled knowingly.

"No! I mean, uh, no. I meant, you know, for, uh, I meant for training purposes. Because you're a great person to spar against." She blushed heavily, knowing she had tripped up.

The Teton user couldn't help but laugh. "I know what you mean. How were things with Jei-san?"

"Wonderful! We swapped stories and afterward he offered to train me in our clan's techniques after witnessing my current abilities. He says I have the potential to become an even greater ninja than him based on what I already know. Apparently my **Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals **technique is a variation, albeit a weaker one, of one of my clan's techniques. Jei-sensei wants me to learn the very best techniques, though, the ones that even he doesn't know, so we're going back to my clan's old home to find the secret scrolls there. I suppose our two trips will coincide."

"I suppose. Isn't that a dangerous trip though?"

"Yes, quite, considering it's in enemy territory. But then isn't yours dangerous?"

Naruto chuckled. "Good point." They both endured a decidedly awkward silence for a few seconds.

"Well, I should head off now, don't want to keep Kisame-sensei waiting too long."

Haku led him out to the door. "Goodbye, Naruto."

"Goodbye, Haku-chan. Please be careful," he said and gently hugged her.

"Uh, uh, yeah you too," she managed to stammer as he exited with his lovely smile and she closed the door behind him. Immediately she slid down to the ground as she leaned against the wall and sat down on the floor.

_He called me Haku-chan. And he cares about me. And he HUGGED me. Oh, dear Kami._

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Kisame was waiting outside. "So, you get in her pants yet or what?"

"Shut up."

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_(4 days later)_

Just outside Ta no Kuni, it was a beautiful day. The sun shone powerfully as it reflected upon a clear, blue, babbling creek flanked with all manner of wildflower. Under a tree sat two long-time partners, conversing about nothing in particular. A boy, who certainly did not look like a boy by his stature and physique, was peacefully sitting on this small river and meditating, notably missing both his black-and-red cloak and his gold chain, when a creature with a Venus-fly-trap-like appendage emerged from the bank behind him.

"Hello, Naruto. **We have the information you need about Orochimaru. Come over here with the others so we can tell you all together.**"

Slowly and reluctantly but surely he rose up from his comfortable meditation spot and strolled over to the tree where his two elders were sitting. Once he had taken his own seat, Zetsu began.

"**We are currently no more than five miles outside one of the snake's main bases.**"

"He must be aware of our presence then."

"Yes, quite. The subtle approach was **destined to fail anyway. He would have detected you no matter how you approached.**"

"Very well. If we're not going to be subtle to begin with, why be subtle at all? I know precisely how to deal with this quickly," Naruto said with great certainty. "Anything else we should know?"

"**Yes, just one more thing. Your timing is fortunate. **Every three years, Orochimaru switches bodies as part of a sick experimental jutsu he uses. Just before he switches bodies, he's very weak. It just so happens that the three-year mark is near and he has yet to switch. **In other words, this is the perfect time to strike and finish him for good. That is all, now go.**"

Before long, the three Akatsuki were standing by what they perceived to be the hidden entrance to the base, just under a tree in the middle of a forest.

"Who goes in first?" Kisame asked with his trademark Monster grin.

"Nobody. He's going to come out," Naruto replied. He walked briskly above ground, parallel to the entrance, for about a minute. Upon reaching his destination, he looked at it for about a minute, as though searching for something among the blades of grass.

"He's right under here," he called out. "You two ready?" Itachi and Kisame nodded, so the young man continued.

"**Doton: Earth Opening Jutsu!**" No sooner had the land opened up to reveal a room underneath than the disembodied head of Orochimaru shot up at him.

In response, a large iron spike formed from Naruto's chest and impaled the snake's head. Knowing it wasn't over, he jumped back and his target followed soon after.

"Well, look who it is. So Pain has sent Itachi-kun and the great Kisame Hoshigaki after little old me? I'm quite honored," he said in the creepiest way possible and licked his lips. "And who is this? Just a child, but I can sense the power resonating from you."

"Who I am is none of your business, snake. Hand over the sky ring and we will depart without another word. If you resist, however, we will not hesitate to kill you. You know you cannot possibly take all three of us on simultaneously and hope to survive."

"Perhaps you are right, but I can't possibly pass up the chance to use this fabulous new body in battle."

_Fuck you, Zetsu._

"Itachi-san, Kisame-sensei, back off. I've been meaning to test my full power anyway."

The Konoha traitor wasted absolutely no time. "**Futon: Slicing Waves!**" Multiple waves of the sharp wind cut through the air toward the youngest Akatsuki.

"**Suiton: Wave Hand!**" A continuous jet of water shot out of Naruto's hand and successfully deflected the wind. "**Raiton: Thunderous Lions!**" he called immediately after, then followed that by promptly summoning a half-dome of iron behind his enemy. This effectively trapped the snake and kept him from escaping the alarmingly quick beasts.

Their speed was not very fast, but without warning they pounced upon the missing ninja from quite far away and fried him midway through a set of hand signs.

"He can't possibly be dead so quickly."

"Not to worry, Naruto. Look again," Itachi said calmly.

Sure enough, out of the mouth of his body another body manifested itself. Before the Akatsuki's eyes, what seemed to be bones popped out from all throughout his upper body. "You haven't failed me, Kimimaro. Your sacrifice will not go in vain." He leapt forward toward his enemy.

As he sprinted, Naruto raised an iron bar in his path which tripped him, but his speed was such that his momentum caused him to keep coming. Strengthening his foot with iron, he launched a kick at his face, but just before the strike, the snake lifted a bone and blocked it. To the boy's shock, it successfully blocked the strike although Orochimaru was sent flying backwards.

"An interesting kekkei genkai you have there, boy. You would make an excellent host."

"I'm afraid you won't live to see that day." Rushing forward with a fist out, Naruto swung at the snake; it was easily avoided with a lean to the right, but an iron spike appeared from the ground on that side, and impaled the ex-Akatsuki's leg. This forced him to drop his guard, so the dark-haired boy took his chance by placing his hand on the man's chest: "**Teton: 10,000 Infamous Spikes!**"

A seemingly infinite barrage of incredibly sharp spikes shot out at incredible speed straight through Orochimaru. Holes riddled his body and he fell to the ground. "**Araton: Inherent Annihilation!**" A beam of water, lightning and wind devastated the traitor, to the point that he was hardly recognizable, nearly ashes. "**Teton: Irreparable Seal of Sevens!**" At those words, seven more spikes surrounded what was left of the snake's body and formed an ethereal dome around him. Naruto slapped a tag on top of this ethereal dome, into which was sucked everything that was within and part of the dome. Once the entire scene was over, the Kiri native used a simple Katon jutsu to burn the tag.

Itachi, stoic as ever, waltzed calmly over to his younger companion. "You realize he is most likely still not dead, yes?"

"Yeah, I know."

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Once inside the base, the hunt for the ring began. Each of the three made as many shadow clones as they could muster to search the vast place.

Naruto looked around the room into which he had burst initially, letting the clones do the work. His eyes fell upon a beautiful sword in the corner. It was a very long katana, as long as Samehada, with a reflective white blade and a reflective, obsidian-black grip. It was shiny, but also had simple colors, just the way Naruto liked. Without a thought, he dropped his current katana on the ground and picked up that one. Just next to it he found a note.

_Shirokage- legendary sword of the Rikudou Sennin. Or at least, supposedly so. Completely useless- just acts like normal sword. Must be some way to activate, but never found. ABANDONED PROJECT_

_Legendary sword?! Rikudou Sennin?! I must ask the others about this._

Just then, Kisame came around the corner with the ring. "Here you go, kid. You're now an official member of the Akatsuki." Naruto carefully put on the ring. It felt good to finally be official. "What's that you got there?"

Zetsu emerged from the ground behind them to see about how the mission had gone but decided not to interrupt the ongoing conversation.

"Apparently it's a legendary sword of the Rikudou Sennin, Shirokage. Check it out, Itachi-san."

In the split second that they were both touching the blade, a great light came from it that shocked everyone present. As the light dimmed an inscription along the blade was revealed centuries after it was first written.

"What the fuck?!" Kisame exclaimed.

"Hold on, something is written on it. Some sort of poem or something.

'_Ere two brothers meet,_

_Long separate by hate_

_Now pair against the one"_

"What a strange poem," Itachi mused. "No discernible meter, no rhyme. No clues as to what it means."

"**Au contraire, Itachi. If this truly was made by the Rikudou Sennin, then the two brothers are not hard to discern.**"

"Ah, yes, his sons Indra and Asura. The ancestors of the Uchiha and Senju clans, respecitively."

"**Indeed. Those descendants have long been separated by hate have they not?**"

"Of course," Naruto replied. "They've hated each other seemingly since their birth."

"**Right. Now Itachi here is an Uchiha, and he was one of the people that caused the sword to activate, was he not?**"

"Yes, obviously."

"**And you were the other one that was touching it, Naruto, correct?**"

"Well clearly…wait. Wait."

A brief pause pervaded the room as realization struck all of them.

"I'm a Senju!?"

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**Rate and review.**


	10. Chapter 9

Ill-Fated

Chapter 9

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**The Phoenix**

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"I'M A SENJU!?"

"**Yes, Naruto, you're a Senju.**"

"But, but, but how? And how do you know?"

"Well we didn't before, but once you **two touched the sword it wasn't too hard to figure out.**"

"I…I need to think for a second," the young man said. Itachi released the sword just then, leaving only him holding it, and suddenly the new Senju felt the most massive burst of chakra he ever had.

"Kami, what is that chakra? I've never felt something so huge!"

"Naruto, what are you talking about, I don't sense anything," Itachi replied stoically.

"Yeah, kid, there's nothing," Kisame added.

"I am the greatest sensor in existence and I don't feel anything either," Zetsu agreed.

"I think it's connected to the sword," said the youngest Akatsuki. "It's glowing even brighter now. It's attempting to lead me to something. It's very far away, but again, its chakra signature is immeasurably large." He put down the sword. "Sure enough, when I'm not holding the sword I can't feel anything. But when I pick it back up, there it is again. Very interesting. Before I go after that we need to figure this out. Let's talk about the poem first."

"Good idea," the plant-man said.

"The first two lines seem quite clear- 'Where two brothers meet, long separate by hate'- talking about the Uchiha and the Senju coming together to activate the sword. But then, 'pair against the one'- I suppose that the 'pair' is referring to the Uchiha and the Senju, but who is the one?" Itachi inquired.

"I don't think there's any way to know, to be honest. It's ominous, to be sure. But there are no other clues. Perhaps in finding the other item that the sword is drawing me to, that secret will be uncovered," the boy answered. "In the meantime, I have to think about my lineage. Too bad nobody is alive who knows anything about my mother and father."

_Kami damn it, _the shark man thought. "Well…not exactly nobody."

The Teton user's head shot up and he stared daggers into his sensei. "What the fuck do you mean? I would suggest you choose your words wisely from here on out."

"Calm down, kid." The long-time Akatsuki sat down. "Take a seat, kid, it's time I tell you about an old Kiri ANBU teammate of mine, Shiawase Mousetsu- the woman who, I believe, was your mother."

"Tell me **NOW**!" The killer intent was rolling off the boy. He couldn't hold back his emotions, even if he'd wanted to. How dare Kisame hold back information about his mother! Who was he to do that?

"Ok, ok. First, I can tell you she was a tall, slender lady with long, smooth black hair. I can tell you, she was a looker. In fact, she looked a lot like a grown version of Haku. We were on a team together for years until she was promoted to ANBU commander. That's right, the first known female ANBU commander in the history of the elemental nations. Her special ability? The Teton kekkei genkai made her feared everywhere. Yours is different, though. Yours is much stronger than hers was; you also have much more chakra than she did. I'm of the opinion, then, that the Senju blood came from your father's side and strengthened your kekkei genkai."

"What do you know of my tou-san?"  
>"Nothing. Never saw him, never heard of him, she never said a word about him, or you for that matter. I'm sure she had left Kiri by that time. But as far as I know, she was the only member of her clan. She was a total loner from the start."<p>

"Why did you wait until now to tell me?"

"I needed to be sure that you were hers. But after seeing your smarts, your kekkei genkai and your little show of emotion right there, I'm sure of it. So that's that."

Naruto meditated upon these new findings. He wasn't quite sure what to do with this tsunami of information. Now he knew his mother's name. His family name. His father was a Senju. He had many things to think upon, to be sure.

"At any rate, let's be off to find this artifact the Shirokage is leading me to. I can figure this out later."

The other three in the room thought the same thing with raised eyebrows: _Is he not surprised or fazed by this at all?_

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_(3 days later)_

The three Akatsuki, soon joined by their plant-like comrade, found themselves in a village so thoroughly run-down and abandoned, a less knowledgeable onlooker would have thought the place had never seen a youthful era. But these four had no such ignorance.

"Uzugakure," the youngest one stated seriously. "It's here."

The group strolled through with the utmost ambivalence toward the destruction around them. Soon they were at the edge of the ocean surrounding the village.

"It's somewhere near here, underwater. I feel that I should go on alone from here. I shouldn't be too long," he said with his typical emotionless tone and without waiting for a response took off his cloak and dive in.

"Something's off about that kid," Kisame observed thoughtfully once the young man was gone.

"I've been meaning to speak to you about precisely that subject. I'm no licensed psychologist, but I firmly believe Naruto suffers from a condition that I've dubbed 'selective psychopathy.'"

"What?"

"I was nearly ready to diagnose him as a full-on psychopath. He seems wholly incapable of feeling emotions toward others. It's simply unnatural how proficient he is at lying. He's very charming and effective in his manipulation when he chooses to be. In other words, he's using you, Kisame. He doesn't see you as anything other than a stepping stone to power. The other most significant aspect of psychopathy is sex addiction, which it's entirely possible he has."

"What do you mean he's using me? Don't be ridiculous."

"I didn't want to believe it either, but it's simply true. He manipulated you into developing feelings toward him so that you would be more invested in his training. Which leads me to where I was stumped- why is he so intent on becoming stronger? He must care about something then, which I presumed to be his mother, who I have heard him talk about. That episode a few days ago only confirmed that to be the case- he is overwhelmingly emotional when it comes to his mother. It's almost as though all his emotions, rather than being evenly distributed, were placed into matters only concerning his mother, which magnified his feelings toward those matters immensely. A partial psychopath, in the sense that they're entirely psychopathic in every way except concerning one entity, is entirely unheard of. Whether it is genetic or trauma-induced is impossible to discern."

The shark-man sat down at this news and rubbed the back of his neck. _So all this time he was lying? All that shit about seeing me as a big brother? That was bullshit? Kami, damn it. I can't believe this. _"Fuckin hell."

"I wouldn't be too offended. He could fool anybody. Besides, his goals could be seen as noble, and he wants the same thing you do."

"That's true."

A few minutes passed as the two Akatsuki looked out over the calm ocean.

"Why isn't that kid back yet?"

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After activating a underwater-breathing jutsu and swimming down and out from shore for a few minutes, Naruto found a large temple underwater. Strangely enough, it was fully intact, as though it had been built to be there. The Teton user swam through what he assumed was the front entrance. Following a short tunnel, he was led up into a dry cove within the temple.

He surfaced and climbed onto dry land. The room was pristine, like a lab. It was formed entirely out of what looked to be white marble, completely lacking any kind of dust despite its no doubt ancient age. The young man strolled silently down a long corridor, of the same spotless white. Soon he found himself in a large, circular room, like an arena. There was no open door on the other side, so he wandered into the center of the room, looking around for an opening.

The second his foot hit the middle of the chamber, the walls glowed and slid open. Out of these new holes emerged five warriors wearing what seemed to be some sort of ancient samurai armor, similar to that of the clan war era. Without hesitation, the warriors unsheathed swords and ran at the boy.

_Is this a joke? _"**Futon: Thousand Senbon Dome!**" A semi-sphere of countless senbon made entirely out of wind formed around Naruto that soon shot out at the various attackers at an immeasurable velocity. _This is one of my most lethal jutsu. I have yet to see a jutsu or armor that can defend against this. _

Sure enough, the wind-formed needles pierced cleanly through the ancient armor and left the five warriors in a heap. But before he could search any further for a seal, the warriors had stood back up and were coming at him even faster this time. _Ah, so that's the challenge._

He quickly used the same jutsu again, buying him enough time to focus his sensory abilities and pinpoint the origin of the chakra. Within seconds he looked up at the top of the room- there it was, just in the center. He was unfazed when the ancient warriors came at him once again, with the greatest speed yet.

"**Araton: Focused Beam!**" The seal was blown to pieces, the warriors fell into a heap around him, and a door opened on the opposite side of the room.

After that short skirmish, the dark-haired boy passed through the now-open door and came upon another chamber. At the far end were two identical guardians in front of two identical doors. In front of the two was a sign which read as follows: **One of these two doors leads to the weapon. The other leads to certain death. One of these guardians always tells the truth; the other always lies. You may ask one yes/no question to one of the guardians to determine behind which door the sword lies.**

Naruto began to rub his chin. _Kami, what a riddle. So I can't just straight up ask. This will require inverse reasoning. One always lies, one always tells the truth. So they will always have different answers. I need to indirectly learn both of their opinions, then. If a lie and a truth are combined, then a lie is formed, like positives and negatives, so…if I ask one the opinion of the other, I should get the wrong door! Because, for example, if the truth-teller is guarding the door with the sword and I ask him what the other guardian would say about which door leads to the sword, the truth-teller would say that the liar would say that he himself, the liar is guarding it, but since the liar always lies, it would be false, so the one I asked is the one guarding it. And if the truth-teller was guarding the sword but I asked the liar instead, he would say that the truth-teller would say that he, the liar, is guarding the sword, but the whole thing would be a lie, so it would be the other door again!_

The Teton user eagerly approached a guardian at random. "If I asked the other guardian which door leads to the sword, what would he tell me?"

"**The other guardian would say that I am guarding the sword,"** came the emotionless, detached response.

So onward the boy went, into the opposite door, and he was pleased with what he found.

The first thing his eyes landed upon was the sword itself. It was a metallic black with a white hilt, the inverse colors of Shirokage. It glowed just like the white sword and was just as beautiful. It lay on what looked to be an altar made of marble at the end of a quite small room. Other than the sword the place was empty and made of the same white marble, but the blade seemed especially pristine. Without hesitation, Naruto walked up and pulled it out of the marble altar.

A sudden earthquake caused him to lose his balance and fall. Looking down, he saw the two swords (he had taken out the Shirokage in case of a trap) glowing even brighter than ever before. He picked up his head to reassess the room, but instead of an empty cove, sitting authoritatively in front of him was a giant flaming bird with purple metallic eyes with concentric circles inside them.

Even Naruto, normally more than able to keep his cool even in the craziest of circumstances, nearly had a heart attack.

"What the fuck!? What are you? What are you doing here? What the hell!"

"**Silence, boy! Naruto Senju. Even if I knew you were destined to be the one to acquire the full power of the Shirokage and the Kurokage, I could not have chosen a more unlikely candidate. I wonder what the mighty Sage would think had he known that these legendary tools of his would fall into your hands. Naturally, he would wish for a direct descendant of Asura to receive them,**" the bird boomed in a regal voice.

Somehow managing to regain his composure, the human was still highly perplexed. "I am highly perplexed."

"**Of course you are. A weak mortal such as you cannot possibly comprehend the magnitude of such truths. Be still, and I will explain.**

"**Thousands of years ago, a man of power greater than you will ever know walked this earth, a man known today as the Rikudou Sennin. He formed five tools which are now known as the greatest ninja tools ever made, so powerful that the vast majority of normal humans would die within seconds of attempting to wield them.**

"**However, he didn't only make those five. His greatest creation by far was a set of two swords- the Shirokage and the Kurokage, the two swords you hold in your hands now. One is useless without the other, but together they are capable of immeasurable power. Just before his death, he sealed me, his summon, the mighty Phoenix, within the Kurokage and hid it in this temple. When the Shirokage was activated, the wielder would be led here and I would be freed. He assured me that he would guide his chosen one to the sword- one capable of bringing peace to the entire world. It would seem that the chosen one is you."**

Quite frankly, Naruto could not have given less of a fuck about being some "chosen one". "So you're my summon now or something? And what do the swords do? And why can I wield the swords if all the other tools take up such a massive amount of chakra?"

"**Not so fast, boy. I will answer your questions, but first, I must conduct a test. Look into my eyes."**

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Seconds later, Naruto was sweating profusely, was out of breath and had his hands on the floor.

"What was that?!"

"**You have just lived an entire life in no more than three seconds. I made you relive your life from the very beginning, without a memory of anything. However, this time it played out very differently. You watched your mother die before your eyes. You never had any potential as a ninja. You never awakened your kekkei genkai. That Haku girl was taken by another man. I even played it out past this point, all the way to your death: the civil war was lost. You were weak and useless.**

"**Yet even with all these setbacks, your life never changed in a single way- you still believed you could change the world. A phoenix can be reborn after death, but only those strong enough not to give up after the ultimate loss are given another life. You were strong enough. You have passed the test. I will submit to you as your summon. Perhaps I should have had more faith in Hagoromo-sama, but I felt the need to ensure you were ready. He has chosen a worthy successor."**

The young man still needed a bit to recover, but soon he had and it seemed as though nothing had ever happened.

"Fine. Now you will answer my questions- what do the swords do and why will I be able to wield them?"

"**The Kurokage and Shirokage amplify the Yin and Yang chakra natures of the rinnegan. I will imbue you with a portion of my chakra, as much as your body can handle at this point, which is, essentially, the chakra of Hagoromo-sama. This chakra will enable you both to wield the swords and use these chakra natures, albeit only with very extensive training and with the aid of the swords."**

"Even I'm willing to admit, that's pretty cool."

"**Indeed, it is. But there's more. I am one of the rare summons whose owners can be trained in a sage mode."**

"There is a phoenix sage mode? Very interesting but I seriously doubt I will need it. I am one of the strongest fighters in the world already!"

"**I would suggest you keep your ego in check, sage mode is beyond even you now and it is very powerful. Should you face a user of sage mode I can guarantee you that the battle will not go the way you wish. You can begin the training whenever you wish, but it will take several months to complete."**

"It's good that I can do it when I please, because I certainly have no time for that at the moment. I'll be sure to check back in about that later. One final question. How do you know so much about me? My name, my goals?"

"**I know everything about you, boy. Leave it at that." **A summoning contract appeared out of nowhere. **"Sign this contract, and you will be my master for all time."**

The Teton user had to consider the gravity of the moment as he saw the only other name on the contract. _The chosen one of the Rikudou Sennin. I wonder if kaa-chan would be proud._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Several minutes later, Itachi and Kisame watched as their younger partner emerged from the water. He used a Katon jutsu to dry off, then grabbed his cloak and walked straight past the other two without a word.

"See you got some new hardware there," Kisame said, gesturing to Kurokage. "What happened?"

"A lot of things. Let's head back." Naruto melted into wind and was gone.

"Real piece of work, that kid." the shark-man muttered under his breath.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_(2 months later)_

The last couple of months had been spent training soldiers and consolidating supplies. Now all was ready- the day had finally come for the three companies to be sent off to their respective destinations.

Mei was, naturally, as commander-in-chief, leader of first company, the force invading the mainland of Mizu no Kuni. Kisame would be general of the second company, which would engage in an island-hopping campaign in the south; Zabuza was eager to be lieutenant general in order to whip his inferiors into shape. Third company ended up being headed by Jei, due to his great experience. Naruto would serve as lieutenant general, which he didn't mind, with Haku as major general just under him. Yes, despite the Demon of Kiri's endless lobbying, it somehow ended up that Haku would serve in the north and not with her surrogate father.

Again, _Zabuza's _lobbying, not Haku's.

The kunoichi saw it as a fantastic opportunity to spend more time with Naruto, which she certainly wouldn't complain about. Still, she was sad to have to separate from the man who had cared for her for so long.

Every soldier was on their ship. Naruto, Zabuza, and Haku were the only ones yet to board.

"Goodbye, tou-san," the girl said while hugging the Demon. "Don't go too crazy."

"I won't. Take care of yourself, please. Mind if I talk alone with Naruto for a minute?"

"Not at all," she said and walked out of earshot. The Demon immediately built up as much killer intent as possible and approached the Teton user.

"**I swear to Kami, if you lay a finger on her or let anyone else lay a finger on her, you'll wish you were never alive,**" he whispered harshly in his most threatening voice ever used.

A chunin might have dropped dead. But Naruto nearly yawned.

"How about this instead? I do whatever the fuck I want, and I don't kill you," he whispered back with a smile. "Come on, Haku-chan, let's get out of here," he called.

When she walked by him, he placed his hand on the small of her back, threateningly close to her ass, never breaking eye contact with Zabuza.

The man silently seethed and plotted the most painful death possible for Naruto.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**A shortish chapter, but some badass stuff happened. Like, seriously badass.**

**THIS IS IMPORTANT****: In collaboration with BarelySage we re-created the Mist Country with names of islands, cities, outposts, etc. Now you could try to steamroll through the war arc I am doing or you could checkout the map we made (its handwritten) at: .deviantart .com with our profile "barelyprodigies" in front. Spend literally less than a minute to copy and paste it into your browser, look at the map and know exactly where all three companies are at the given time. It also includes what the islands hold, numbers of soldiers, railroads, and any important information about the location. We made this war HUGE in comparison to other stories because this war will and can be calculated down to the last soldier standing seeing as the loyalists outnumber the rebels 3 to 1. So please look at the map and you will enjoy the story 10x more.**

**I want to give the biggest shout out ever to my boy, BarelySage. He's gotten tired of the funny stuff with Adventures of an ANBU Trainee, so he's begun a new, serious story, called Something You Can't Ignore. The idea is a twist on the normal abandoned Naruto story and the first chapter was excellently written. Please check it out!**

**Rate and Review.**


	11. Chapter 10

**Now begins the grandest and most epic war arc in the history of Naruto fanfiction (I hope)! BarelySage and I put a hell of a lot of hours into the planning of this arc, and there are still later specifics to be worked out. This war arc is the result of a hell of a grind, but I can't force you all to like and appreciate it, only pray that you do. And beg. I can do that too. Please appreciate this! **

**Believe me when I say you'll need the map. You will absolutely need the map. I can't put a link on this website, but just type [barelyprodigies()deviantart()com] [() = .] into your browser of choice and you'll come upon it, just as a reminder. That'll contain lots of useful information in addition to the general geography of the place.**

**After each battle I'll share stats such as troops lost on each side, remaining troops on each side, and other relevant information so that you guys can have a concrete idea of how the war is developing. Any ideas on how to make this arc easier to keep up with will be greatly appreciated. **

**Without further ado, enjoy the war! (That sounds disturbingly masochistic.)**

Ill-Fated

Chapter 10

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**Kiri Civil War: Year One: The First Battle**

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A budding spring in Mizu no Kuni might as well be labeled as a wonder of the world, something that must be seen in person for one to comprehend truly its full beauty.

A whimsical season without a worry of a storm, often without a cloud in the sky, providing a time of abundance for the people of the land- a time when trade flourished but so did friendships, when flowers bloomed but so did love.

If this was the paradigm for spring, Jei Yuki's third company would swear they were still in the dead of winter.

A thunder clap visible in the window of his cabin cast a dark shadow on a young man's face. He sat in the head cabin of one of the many ships in third company's control and listened to the incessant yelling of his men desperately trying to keep the ship afloat.

He rose from his bed slowly, as though impending doom did not worry him at all. A deep sigh left his lips when he heard a sharp rapping at his door.

"N-N-Naruto-ippan! You need to come out here now! Our ships are dangerously close to sinking!"

Naruto grabbed his Akatsuki cloak from off a nearby chair and opened the door to reveal a thoroughly soaked and frightened young kunoichi. The lack of any markings on her armor told Naruto her position.

"Private, if you ever speak to me like that again, I will throw you off the side of the ship and leave you for the sharks. Is that understood?" The chill in his voice coupled with the look of seeming indifference on her face left the girl with a tinge of perplexity in her otherwise deathly fearful disposition. She was too scared to form words properly and so just shook her head.

The Teton user shook his head. "Dismissed. I'll be out promptly." As the kunoichi sped away from her superior, he questioned his leadership tactics.

_The Romans made their soldiers fear their leaders so much that they would rather run headlong into certain death than disobey a superior's orders. But those were trained soldiers and grown men. Whether such tactics would work on mere genin has yet to be seen. _

The rebel leader was forced to channel chakra to his feet so that he didn't trip from the horrid thrashing of the boat. Once he was out on the main deck, he saw how his men ran to and fro, pulling ropes and yelling sailing jargon that he had no intention of ever learning. His first order of business was to find one of the lieutenants assigned to his ship. Fortunately, the lieutenant found him.

"Ippan-sama," the man yelled at the top of his lungs (even then Naruto was hardly able to make out his words over the deafening noises of the storm), "we're in dire straits here!"

"How many ships have we lost?"

"It's only been going on for a few minutes and we've lost three already!"

_Damn, I have to handle this right now. _

He rushed to the edge of the ship and created a large iron spike in the water. _That'll at least act as a lightning rod, but lightning is probably the least of our worries. _

He was about to begin planning other preventative measures when a large bolt of lightning struck right next to his ship, causing it to rock even worse than it had previously.

_That bolt totally missed the lightning rod! That's incredibly unnatural. This is no normal storm…_

He focused his sensory abilities, and sure enough- _the sky is laced with chakra! This is a jutsu! _

He ran back to the lieutenant. "Inform as many people as possible that this is a jutsu and I'm going to take care of the caster." Without another word the young man sped off in the direction of the origin of the chakra.

His search brought him upon a very small islet about a mile from the action. He turned around and saw that the area of the storm just happened only to cover the area that their ships occupied. _I was a fool not to notice it earlier. _

He was alerted to a rather large chakra signature behind him and turned to face it.

There in front of him stood a dark-skinned man, probably around the age of thirty, with very light yellow, nearly white hair and circular, amber eyes. He wore the standard armor of the loyalists, very similar to that of the rebellion, except it was entirely white, instead of the gray of the rebels'.

"I don't know who you are," Naruto began, "but I suggest you cancel that jutsu and conserve your chakra if you plan on having any chance of surviving a fight against me."

"I'm Zanzu Ukare, some call me the secret weapon of the forces at Anaka Island. You're Naruto Hoshigaki. I've heard of you Akatsuki people, apparently you're pretty tough, but a kid like you can't possibly beat me."

The young man was totally ignoring everything his enemy said, his thoughts hinging on one word. _Anaka? So they knew we were coming. They even went so far as to send naval reinforcements from Anaka Island to ambush us. I should make a clone to scout their numbers and report to Jei. . _

The young man formed a shadow clone and sent it off to report in to the general of the company.

"Are you even listening to me, kid?! Aren't you wondering how I developed such an amazing jutsu?"

"Quite frankly, I don't give half a fuck about you or anything you know. I could develop a storm-based jutsu light years ahead of that one in five minutes if I wanted to. I'm already thinking about how much of a bitch it'll be to wash the stains of your blood out of my cloak."

The ex-Kumo jonin swallowed a bit. Naruto's undying cool demeanor was intimidating as hell. The reputation of the "kid" before him preceded him, so Zanzu knew of the power the Teton user held.

Or did he?

Naruto drew his twin swords as the dark clouds behind him dissipated and charged the man, who had his own tanto. In the past two months, the young man had trained relentlessly in the art of two-katana kenjutsu. If his kenjutsu was excellent before, now he was all but a master.

He started with a vertical swing from above, coming down on the ex-Kumo ninja's head. The blonde blocked it with one hand with his tanto, but Naruto followed his first strike by swinging Kurokage at Zanzu's left side. Zanzu grabbed the oncoming wrist with his free hand and tried to knee the rebel in his gut, but when he raised it, an iron spike met his leg and left it a gash before Zanzu could pull it back.

"Cute kekkei genkai you've got there," the loyalist said. But no answer came as the boy came back in for another round of kenjutsu.

Naruto recklessly and hastily took a swing at his enemy. The secret weapon easily blocked it with his tanto and balled up his free hand. _What a terribly attack. This kid has no idea how to fight, _he thought just before he lunged his fist as hard as he could into the young man's stomach.

Zanzu let out a low scream as he felt his fingers break on contact with Naruto's stomach. _How are his abs so goddamn hard?!_ While he was stunned, he got an iron-enhanced knee to his still-lowered jaw, then another gash on his leg before he could shunshin back.

_It's great to see my new and improved Teton armor is so effective in a real fight. The months did not go to waste. Though I'd hardly call this poor excuse for a shinobi an adequate test. _

"I apologize for not giving you a quick death, but I really need to conserve every ounce of chakra I can for this upcoming fight. No, chakra is certainly more of a force, so I suppose it would be proper to say every Newton of chakra. Then again, is kinetic energy measured in Newtons? No, it's measured in Joules. I suppose joules would be correct until it leaves my body, in which case it could be measured in both joules-"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP AND FIGHT ME! **Raiton: Thunder Palm!**"

Naruto had a relatively easy time evading the ninjutsu attack. _I suppose he must have spent quite a lot of time developing that jutsu. It's unfortunate for him that that's the only skill he ever seemed to develop with any seriousness. _

"You have no business fighting a member of the Akatsuki. You will not survive this battle." The younger shinobi shunshined at the older one and went low for a leg sweep. The gashes in Zanzu's left leg left him unable to get high enough off the ground. He yelled again when he felt his enemy's iron heel nearly shatter his left knee to pieces. Now he was falling to the sandy floor of the islet, but before he hit it he received a hard kick to the back that shuffled his vertebrae like a house of cards being knocked over. Naruto's speed was such that he managed to land a spinning back kick to Zanzu's face as he was now falling forward in the other direction.

By the end of this attack, the Kiri loyalist was disturbingly close to death. His blood stained the soft sand on which his beaten form lay.

"Be-before you k-kill me…" he barely managed to choke out as he was nearly drowning in his own blood, "I…w-want to s-say one thing…" His wheezing rendered him nearly inaudible.

"Is that so?" Naruto said as he towered over his enemy. He lifted Kurokage and ruthlessly decapitated his enemy. "Trash."

He picked up the detached head. _This is sure to scare a number of their forces. But first I need to get to Jei. _He sealed the head away in a scroll and performed a shunshin to the flagship of the company. It was much larger than any other ship, complete with a large war room within. It was in this room that Naruto found his superior, working out plans with his top advisors.

"Naruto, there you are. Your shadow clone gave me the news. I assume you took care of that Zanzu fellow?"

"Yeah, I think his name was something like that. His head is in this scroll."

"And you kept his head…why exactly?"

"Fear tactics, of course," he said with an uncharacteristic grin.

Jei sighed. _He sure loves to go overboard sometimes._ "Whatever, just get over here, we're working out a plan. According to your clone, the enemy currently has about 1,200 ships, meaning they have about 24,000 troops. There is an archipelago twenty miles north of here where they will likely try to pin and surround us. They have the majority of their ships on either side of us, which will force us to keep going straight, right into the islands. However, about 100 of their ships are under a high-level genjutsu which renders them invisible. These ships will most likely attempt to disrupt our formations and split up our ships into smaller groups. This will exacerbate the advantage in numbers they already have.

"The way I see it, we have two options at this point: retreat (which isn't really an option, because Senma Island, in addition to having a prison which holds tens of thousands of our comrades, is one of the largest food sources in the country, which will be instrumental to feeding our cause), or use the fact that we know their trap against them."

"How would we go about doing that, Ippan-sama?" one of the advisors asked.

"It'll go a little something like this…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_(30 minutes later)_

Sakaru, admiral of the Anaka Island naval forces, allowed himself a pleased smile as he watched his genius plan come to fruition. _Those stupid rebels don't know what hit them. This plan worked perfectly!_ "Ok, they're completely surrounded and trapped against the islands! Disruption team, engage!"

About 100 previously invisible ships rammed into the rebel ships before them. The disruption was a perfect success. So successful, in fact, that the loyalist ships went straight through the rebels' without even stopping or taking a scratch. They didn't even slow down- Probably because the only thing they rammed into were false projections.

"It's a genjutsu, they're trying to trap us!" the admiral yelled, but even as he said those words, he knew it was too late. He watched as every shinobi in the rebel company was able to form a mud wall surrounded the loyalist ships, which were all compacted in a circle around the archipelago in anticipation of the trap, and performed that jutsu. Naruto covered a substantial portion of the circle with his iron spikes.

_Now who's trapped whom? _Jei thought and allowed himself a grin. The loyalists had compacted their ships to the extreme lest their trapped enemies escape, but now that they were the ones trapped, they could not move their ships. This created an archipelago of ships surrounding the archipelago of land.

The third company commander called out his next command. "Throw every explosive kunai you have, now!"

With many of the shinobi using the kunai shadow clone technique, hundreds of thousands of these kunai laced with explosive tags rained down on the closely compacted ships, devastating the loyalists. Now wreckage littered the place. Jei gave his next order and his last one for a while.

"Now charge!"

Naruto went straight to work, making several shadow clones. His clones would take care of the regular troops while the original would seek out the largest enemy chakra signatures in the area and take care of them.

Within seconds he found what looked to be a loyalist legionnaire effectively dealing with several rebel privates. He thought back to something Jei had told him a month before as he sprinted to engage the enemy.

_In order to deal more effectively with these loyalists, you must know the structure of their military. They operate on an entirely different basis from ours. Our smallest unit is the squad, comprised of four privates; theirs is the century, comprised of about 100 D to low-C rank shinobi, who wear the basic blue armor of the loyalists. The centurion, the leader of a century, is generally a high-C to low-B rank shinobi who bears green armor. Ten centuries make up a legion. The legionnaire, or leader of a legion, is usually a mid- to high-B rank shinobi who wears red armor. This is the largest unit in their army. However, each city and island under loyalist control is governed by a shinobi of A rank or higher. These are the ones you really have to worry about. If you see one in a battle, dispose of him immediately, preferably by calling for backup. These are characterized by their gold armor. _

The ninja in front of him had red armor on. _B rank? Bitch, please. Hold on- now that I think about it, that ninja from before had white armor on. I suppose some ninja act outside of the legion system. _

Returning his consciousness back to the fight occurring around him, he weighed his options to make a quite crucial decision. _If I make a Teton clone I know it can deal with this guy, but do I have the chakra? I'm not sure if a shadow clone will be able to deal with it, but if my numbers were right there are at least 23 more legionnaires out there to be dealt with. I can't let them continue to devastate the troops. Fuck it, I'll make two shadow clones for every legionnaire. At the very least, I should be able to injure them, then my comrades can finish them off. That'll take up a lot of chakra though. I can't have them using ninjutsu, only ken- and taijutsu. _

He formed the shadow clones and sped off toward the red-armored, black-haired man, who was dealing with a squad surrounding him with deadly efficiency. By the time Naruto was there, the squad leader was the only one who remained.

The sight of the young general brought hope and relief to the rebel and anxiety, if not outright fear, to the legionnaire.

"Ippan-sama! Thank Kami you're here!"

"Make yourself scarce. I'll take care of things here," he said authoritatively as he stared down his foe and slowly drew his twin swords.

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There were bodies all around Jei as he approached his opponent, the infamous admiral Sakaru, his golden armor reflecting sunlight in every direction. He had long blue hair, the shape of Jiraiya's but the color of Ao's, which perfectly matched his eyes of the same color. The head general had found the admiral outside the circle, managing things from afar. He had personally led all the kekkei genkai exterminations in northern Mizu no Kuni and was known, among the many cruel loyalist leaders, for being especially…creative in his treatment of clan leaders. He was a top target of the rebels.

And an old friend of Jei Yuki.

"Hey there, old friend. Good to see you made a nice position in your cute little band of traitors," the loyalist seethed.

"How far you've fallen, Sakaru. In those ANBU days I never could've imagined you'd turn out like this. Then again, you always resented me for being better than you. You probably took out all that resentment on my brethren. You're the traitor here, not me. You betrayed your people, slaughtering them when you should have been showing them kindness. It's disgusting. You'll never hurt my people again! **Suiton: Cutting Strong Wave!**"

"**Suiton: Water Encampment Wall!**" The ocean water on which they were standing made any jutsu involving water much easier to use, as well as augmenting their strength.

Jei ran straight through the two jutsu, which had canceled each other out, emerging with his right fist raised at his opponent. Sakaru deflected the strike with his left arm and aimed his right one at the gut of Jei, whose momentum was still carrying him forward quite quickly. In an incredible display of athleticism, Jei planted his left hand on the admiral's right shoulder and flipped himself over the man's head, then twisted his body in midair so that he could deliver a kick with his left foot to Sakaru's face. Since it came from behind, the admiral had no chance of seeing or stopping it.

Now he was falling to the water's surface, but sensing that his old friend had a jutsu ready, he performed a **Water Substitution Jutsu. **Sure enough, a **Suiton: Water Gun **quickly pierced the air where his head had once been.

"I'm surprised you have no qualms about killing me, Jei. You always were a weak one."

"There is a very big difference between weakness and compassion. My so-called weakness got me to ANBU commander, while your so-called strength, which was in reality resentment and hatred, got you absolutely nowhere. How have you managed to learn nothing? **Hyoton: Ice Dragon Bullets!**"

This further enraged Sakaru. "**Katon: Winding Vortex!**" The bullets were melted by the intense fire, but the dragon soon followed and struck the admiral, only for him to disperse into water.

A second later, a katana pierced Jei's back. The ensuing explosion sent Sakaru flying back quite a ways away as he wondered when his old friend had learned the exploding clone jutsu.

Jei rose up from the water behind him hoping to finish his enemy: "**Suiton: Water Cannon Jutsu!**" A remarkably powerful stream of water powerful enough to carve rock shot at the still-airborne admiral.

Sakaru turned around quickly and launched his own jutsu: "**Katon: Sorching Wave!**" The two powerful beams held completely even, neither shinobi giving an inch to the other.

Because the blue-haired shinobi was so engrossed in performing his jutsu, he almost missed the ice clone lunge at his side with a katana out. Sakaru managed to keep his head, but he was not quick enough to leave without injury- the sword cut cleanly right below his right elbow, leaving him without a forearm, while his Katon jutsu was pushed back into his face, horridly scarring the left side of his face. His eye melted within its socket.

A shrill cry frightening beyond belief pierced the air, already full of the terrible sounds of war. Without even bothering to call for a retreat, Sakaru shunshined away as fast and as far as he could.

Jei considered chasing after his old friend, but decided that Sakaru was in bad enough shape that he would probably never be able to fight again. Furthermore, his troops could certainly use his help in the main battle.

Within the hour, what had once been 24,000 loyalist troops found themselves with devastating losses. The combination of being trapped and ambushed and having their best ninja occupied with Jei, Naruto and Haku (who had taken up the task of eliminating as many centurions as possible) resulted in an embarrassing loss for them in the first battle of the war.

After chasing their enemies away for what Jei considered a sufficient time, he gathered his troops and had them scavenge as many supplies and ships as possible. All in all, it was a great victory for the rebels, and, to them at least, a great sign of things to come.

**REBELS: 3rd Company**

**Initial troop number: 22,500**

**Casualties: 302 dead, 483 injured, 0 captured**

**Final troop number (able to fight within three weeks): 21,982**

**Initial ship number: 1125 **

**Ships lost: 0**

**Ships captured: 573**

**Final ship number: 1698**

**LOYALISTS: Senma/Anaka Ambush**

**Initial troop number: 24,000**

**Casualties: 1274 dead, 1756 injured, 132 captured**

**Final troop number: 21,931**

**Initial ship number: 1200**

**Ships lost: 945**

**Ships captured: 0**

**Final ship number: 255**

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The world's only remaining bearer of the Sage's sacred eyes stood on the edge of his lair, looking out upon the city of the eternal downpour, Amegakure. Many developments had taken place in the recent weeks which earned his contemplation. He did not move when a swirl formed behind him and a man with an orange spiral mask stepped out.

"Hello, Nagato," he said with a hint of gravity in his voice.

"You know they will win and defeat your pawn. I strongly doubt Naruto, Kisame and Itachi will fail to win this war."

"I understand that quite well; however, this war only furthers my purpose in manipulating Yagura in the first place. Believe me when I say that everything that happens because I allow it to."

"I understand. How are things developing in the west?"

"A formal battle has yet to be waged, but Konoha may join the war. This would be a great opportunity for us."

"The Kyuubi…"

"Indeed. However, from what I gather, the girl is the same age as young Naruto but just as, if not more powerful."

"Impossible. The boy is nearly an S-rank shinobi."

"Precisely. But when your father is Minato Namikaze, your grandfather Jiraiya of the Sannin, and your great-grandfather Hashirama Senju, you may end up with a slight edge on the competition."

"This is problematic. If what you say is true, then in three years she will be very, very powerful, troublesomely so. But it is too soon to move. The man with orange hair looked into the other man's eyes to emphasize his next sentence.

"In any case, Ai Senju will kneel before a god."

The man in the orange mask smirked and swirled away.

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**Hope you enjoyed the first battle! Check out the other stories on the profile especially BarelySage's new one Something You Can't Ignore it is picking up now and I can't wait to see where it goes.**

**Rate and review.**


	12. Chapter 11

**I'd like to take this time to address some reviews. **

Guest and Guest: **I don't know what kind of malnutrition-ridden third world country you two hail from, but here in the United States of America, a 5' 9" 12 year old isn't just completely possible, it's **_**positively unremarkable**_**. Coming into my freshman year at 12, I was pushing 6 feet. Out of the roughly thirty kids in my class, there were three guys **_**and a girl **_**who were taller than me! I was on a course to hit 6'5", but my height evened out and I ended up only 6'2", unless I hit a growth spurt now (fingers crossed!). I had planned to make Naruto this height, but BarelySage stopped me and said to hold it at 5'9" since people would probably be mad otherwise. Seems like I didn't scale it back enough still! I understand that Naruto doesn't hit that height until Shippuden, but the point is for him to be quite tall- otherwise I wouldn't have assigned him an exact height anyway. The kid is supposed to be a physical specimen. Being that tall at that age has more than anything to do with maturing (a.k.a. hitting puberty) unusually quickly, which also means he can, in fact, be ripped. Also, who the fuck abandons a story because the height of a character bothers them?**

InARealPickle**: Stop yourself. Just stop. Really. Stop. I don't even know what to say to you. There are so many differences between this story and those two I won't even bother to name them all, but I will say this- everyone should stop freaking out about this being a random person on whom I slapped the name Naruto. I made this fic a Naruto fic for a reason. Just please be patient.**

Thorndsword**: You have good grammar and have left intelligent reviews before, so I'll be more cordial and decorous with you. You have to think of Ai as the female version of canon Naruto, but with a hell of a lot more perks. If Naruto in canon had had all these super powerful people around to teach him, would he have been as weak as he was (until suddenly jumping from a borderline B-rank ninja to S-rank in one month)? Of course not! Especially with the Akatsuki now lurking, she'll be getting training even more ridiculous than whatever she was doing before, while our Naruto will be occupied with the war. Furthermore, she'll have some…natural abilities which will give her quite the edge over normal competition. **

Guest**: No worries, there is absolutely no way I will be abandoning this story (*knocks on wood*). More than anything, once I start a fic I just get really anxious to finish it so I can start writing all the other ideas I have haha. **

**Whether or not your comment was negative, thank you for taking the time to review. I really appreciate you leaving me with your ideas, even if I find them stupid or misled. Sorry if you find my responses unnecessarily harsh, but this is the internet and I can say whatever I want. Except tell people I've visited Syria in the past 25 years. Apparently that's a sure way to get your phone tapped by the NSA. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!**

Ill-Fated

Chapter 11

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**Kiri Civil War: Year One: Senma Ambush Aftermath**

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While the third company celebrated the first rebel victory, the first company had cautiously set up camp in what appeared to be an abandoned city- Otari, the fourth largest on the mainland island of Mizu no Kuni and a hop, skip and a jump from Ome island.

Mei was busy setting up a base of operations in the heart of the city when her advance scouts reported to the main command tent.

"Report, lieutenant," she stated authoritatively.

"Yes, Mei-shushou. There are no foreign chakra signatures for miles. All the storehouses for food and weapons have been totally obliterated, as well as factories. It seems that there was a careful, organized evacuation of everyone and all their useful belongings long before we arrived here. Even the restaurants and homes are empty."

"Damn. They knew we were coming somehow. Dismissed." _I hope this doesn't mean what I think it means…_

The soldier bowed and ran off. Mei turned to Ao and Chojuro, who were consulting a map nearby. "I see no reason for us to settle here. There are no resources for us to take advantage of and we are far more vulnerable in these narrow streets. It's imperative that we take Oko railroad, which will give us a fast mode of transportation to our next target, Soza. What do you two think?"

"I agree wholeheartedly," Ao responded. "We have nothing to gain from remaining here. Let's start off as soon as possible."

"But do we even have a concrete plan? I don't think it's a good idea to go in with a plan that isn't well thought out," Chojuro argued nervously.

"I absolutely insist that we go. I can hardly believe that our enemies would leave no traps here whatsoever. If we were to be ambushed now, we wouldn't be able to make any plan at all. We can leave and formulate a sufficient plan when the time comes."

"No, Chojuro has a point," Mei decided after rubbing her chin for a bit. "I sense that had they been planning a trap, they would have either pre-set it or have sprung it while we were settling in. It's likely their evacuation, although thorough, was not as organized or foreseen as our scouts think it to have been, so they did not have enough time to spare to set up an elaborate ambush. We've been here for several hours now, so I believe we're safe."

The other two in the room noted that Ao, for whatever reason, was positively fuming. However, he refrained from blurting out anything out of order out of respect for his commander.

"As you wish, Mei-shushou. What would you have us do now?"

The commander glanced outside the opening in the tent to see the lower half of the sun leaving a rosy tide sprawled throughout the sky. Had her thoughts not been on how she could kill other humans most effectively, she might have even reflected on the world's tremendous beauty.

"Night will fall soon. Ao, gather Recon Team Alpha here. The basic scouts won't do for this mission. You will lead the team on an expedition to acquire specific information about Oko railroad- schedule logs, cargo, number of trains, number of cars per train, number of stations, everything. Go."

"Yes, ma'm." Ao bowed and shunshined away.

The most beautiful woman in Mizu no Kuni sighed. _He's always been so headstrong. _

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Two bodies lay cuddled up together under the warmth of a few soft blankets. Haku's head was nestled into Naruto's neck and her left arm lay across his chest. His left arm was holding her tight to his side while he lay on his back. They had retreated to one of the remotest ships in the fleet, and with a little "persuasion" from the lieutenant general, they had gotten the main cabin all to themselves.

"You're so warm, Naruto-kun," the girl cooed and snuggled up closer to him.

"You're way warmer. You feel so good, come closer," he replied in the gentlest voice possible. Haku was already nearly overwhelmed with the fact that she was cuddling with the shirtless young man she was so attracted to, and on top of that he was being incredibly sweet. She blushed even deeper than she had been and allowed herself to relax and squeeze every drop of bliss she could from the moment, like an amazing dream one never wants to wake up from.

After a few minutes, the boy slowly leaned his head over and began kissing her cheek. He ever so subtly moved his kisses left, and soon they locked lips. This wasn't their first time, so Haku knew to get on top of her lover and straddle him to make it not only easier but much hotter. The soft pecks quickened and deepened at the same pace that Naruto's hands were moving down her back.

The feeling of his soft hands squeezing her ass still sent chills through her body. He did it perfectly- hell, everything he did was perfect. If he wanted to turn her on, he knew precisely how to do it, and in seconds she would be putty in his hands.

Presently, Naruto flipped her over so that he was on top and began intensely kissing her neck. He continued the grinding so that his cock, which was rock hard by now, could clearly be felt rubbing against her cunt. These combined launched her into an indescribable bliss. She had already been moaning but now she couldn't help but call his name.

"Oh, baby, please don't stop…oh, Kami, keep grinding Naruto-kun please…"

The voice she let this out in was the sexiest the young man had ever heard, which only made him more turned on. He started going lower, below her neck to her collarbone, then her upper chest, and started to take off the shirt she had on-

"Naruto-kun, we both just turned 13. It's still too soon," she whispered almost apologetically.

The lieutenant general couldn't help but sigh. "You're right, of course. I'm sorry, I just got caught up," he responded softly as he reached up to plant a soft kiss on her lips.

"I know, baby, I know."

"We should probably get going, we don't want Jei suspecting anything. If he doesn't already, that is."

The kunoichi nodded in agreement and they both stood up. Naruto gave her rubbed one of her soft cheeks with his thumb, got one last deep kiss and one last squeeze of her ass, and was gone.

Haku watched him go with a tinge of sadness. _I wish we could stay together forever. I think I'm in love. _

Meanwhile, Naruto shook his head and spat as he ran. _I swear to Kami, if that bitch doesn't give me head soon, I'm dropping this whole shit. _

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Several hours later, Naruto stood in the cellar of one of the several ships used to hold POWs (prisoners of war). The woman strapped to the chair in front of him was of jonin rank, a centurion- high enough rank to know roughly what was going on in the loyalist army, but not high enough to virtually guarantee an unsuccessful interrogation. She was very, very attractive- her eyes were a full blue, and her hair was long, silky smooth, and nearly black. The way it fell across her face blocked one side of it, giving her a look like Mei's- in other words, a very sexy one. Her breasts were at least a C, nearly D.

"I don't have time to waste on basic measures which I know will be ineffective. I will destroy your psyche if need be," the lieutenant general whispered. He had requested to be alone with the prisoner. Naruto had known mere punching would not be enough, on top of being annoying.

"Fuck you," the prisoner spat out.

The interrogator sighed. _These are the moments when I wish Itachi-sensei had been assigned to our company. But I have my own methods. I just hope I don't fuck this up and kill her. _

Several incredibly miniscule, nearly invisible specks of iron dust floated out from Naruto's hand. They sunk into the prisoner's pores.

"I strongly suggest you talk now. This will be the most painful experience of your life, with no hope of passing out," he stated seriously and gestured to the IV drip hooked up to the jonin, which was full of adrenaline.

"I'll never tell you shit. Go fuck yourself."

"Your eloquence is commendable, as is your stupidity. Try not to scream too loudly, as this is quite a small room, and the walls do nothing to absorb the sound, they just rebound it. I say that, but I know you'll be screaming incredibly loudly."

Naruto had been conducting a painstakingly thorough study of human anatomy for as long as he could remember. After all, just as a demolition expert must know the blueprints of a building in order to most efficiently take it down, so an assassin or interrogator should know the anatomy of the human body in order to effect the best kill or extract the most information.

His research led him to many interesting findings, but none as remarkable as this- the area of the brain which caused the sensation of pain. He had recently discovered the ability of his iron to manipulate lightning to an impressive extent- he could charge the iron with certain amounts of chakra to have it absorb lightning, reflect lightning, and even potentially conduct the lightning then shoot it back out with a range and voltage exponentially higher than the original lightning; however, this was mere conjecture, and Naruto had yet to even truly try it, much less master it.

The abilities to absorb lightning and reflect it were all he needed for now. The brain communicates by very small neuroelectric shockwaves. Naruto had discovered that by planting his iron dust in certain areas of the part of the brain which creates the sensation of pain, he could manipulate these shockwaves to his will- either shutting off pain completely, or, as was more useful here, elicit unimaginable amounts of pain in the victim without hurting them bodily in any way. Of course, this took incredible patience and precision, as planting them in the wrong place could cause loss of memory or nerve damage or death- but, unfortunately for this loyalist, if anyone was patient and precise, it was Naruto Hoshigaki Senju.

The iron specks found their marks. "I'll repeat: this pain will be absolutely unbearable and it will not end until you give me the information. There is no chance of you passing out or dying from this pain, so do not count on it. The only reason I keep asking you is that this technique requires my intense focus, which is something I abhor. This is your final chance."

"FUCK YOU!"

"Very well." The general took the precaution of grabbing a couple of earplugs off the nearby table. "**Teton: Twisted Blessing.**"

The screams made Naruto cringe- not from the fact that the pain igniting them was inhumane, but their sheer volume. The Teton user wasn't just a dick- he lacked the capacity to feel sympathy for his victim. He was a monster by birth, not choice.

Within five seconds the centurion was crying out for it to end. She would tell everything she knew. For a while, all she could do was weep incessantly. Most likely she would be forever scarred by that experience- fortunately enough, her forever was likely no more than ten minutes.

After finally regaining her composure, he took Naruto's questions.

"On which island were you stationed?"

"Senma."

"How many troops are stationed on that island?"

"About 12,000." The mental state of the loyalist was such that if she was lying, even a novice would be able to tell, and Naruto was a seasoned expert.

"Will you really force me to use that technique again?"

The centurion visibly panicked. "Ok, ok, it's about 20,250."

_With the losses from this last battle, I'll say 20,000. The majority were probably from Anaka, since they are the naval base, and it's better to overestimate anyway. _"If you lie again, I'll just use the technique without waiting for you to correct yourself. Describe the prison."

"The prison doubles as a farming work camp, since Senma is one of, if not the, largest source of food in the country. As such, the prisoners are usually outside in the fields. The ratio of prisoners to guards is roughly kept around 100 to 1. At the last count, there were 15,043 prisoners. They are kept under control by a seal which is a variation of a technique from Kusagakure. Any attempt at any kind of use of chakra results in a very painful burning sensation coursing throughout the prisoner's body. The warden, who is also the general of the island, is an A-rank shinobi going by the name Iso. He holds the seal key around his neck. Its destruction would result in all the seals being canceled."

_Looks like an assassination mission. Fuck yes. _"What do you know of this general's abilities?"

"I've never seen him fight, but there's a rumor that he is able to use four different chakra natures, all but Doton, and has very, very large chakra reserves. I don't know how much truth is in those rumors, though."

"Every rumor is rooted in some truth," the young man muttered to himself. "Someone else will be coming in now to finish the interrogation, but I will be close by. If he is forced to bring me over here to persuade you, the next round of pain will be five minutes, not five seconds. Understand?"

"Yes, yes, absolutely. I'll do whatever you want," she said as tears began to form in her eyes again.

Naruto, who had been exiting, suddenly stopped and cocked his head back toward her. _Whatever I want. _A chill ran through his body. He looked to the door of the interrogation room they were in. It was firmly locked, and if her earlier screams hadn't caused anyone even to knock, nothing would.

The kunoichi before him was ridiculously hot, and her will too weak and her fear too great to try anything at all. It had been he that had captured her, so she was well aware that the interrogation jutsu wasn't his only trick. She had no chance, and no desire to try even if she did have one.

The chills continued as he walked back toward her. When he was right in front of her, he unceremoniously dropped his pants, revealing his hard cock right in front of her face. The young lady's tears began falling even more quickly the moment this happened as it was obvious what he wanted and her creative imagination was formulating the most horrible things they could.

"Please don't, please!" she pleaded.

The boy's voice was much quieter and almost spastic in its consistency, as though he couldn't really control it. "Sh-shut the fuck up and s-s-suck my d-dick. If you t-try anyth-thing, I'll do that j-jutsu until y-you're a vegetable."

The kunoichi almost let out a sigh of relief as this was a walk in the park compared to what he could have made her do. She realized that although he was a hardened killer, he was still just a boy wanting his first blowjob. This made it admittedly easier, being that it was a young man (and an attractive one at that), rather than a fat, ugly old man raping her in some incredibly painful and disgusting manner, which was the case far more often. However, this was still forced sex, and she felt sick, weak and taken advantage of.

Without any further hesitation, he forced the all six and a half of his inches into her mouth with uncoordinated haste, a perfectly fine length for what she guessed was a sixteen year old based on his build and the scruff on his face. He undid the cuffs holding her arms to the chair without even a thought of her trying something, his horniness (and perhaps a healthy dose of arrogance) getting to him, so that she could stroke his cock as she bobbed her head up and down on it with practiced elegance.

She settled into a comfortable rhythm which pleased Naruto to no end. He had one hand on her head as she went back and forth of her own accord. She knew that he was nervous, so it may be a while before he finished, but she didn't want to be there forever. The kunoichi started to deepthroat his cock as far as she could, her lips nearly reaching its base. She dropped her hands as there was now no space for them.

The mixture of the feeling of the deepthroating and, strangely enough, the sound, resulted in Naruto hitting his climax in seconds. He didn't scream or cry out, just let out some loud, guttural groans as rope after rope of his cum shot into the kunoichi's mouth. The young lady dutifully swallowed all of it without a request and began to get every last drop out by stroking his cock into her mouth in the same way that one squeezes the last bit of toothpaste out of a nearly empty container.

As soon as she had finished, the young man pulled up his pants and cuffed her back to the chair. It was as though as soon as he came, he came back to his senses. He stormed out without a word or even a glance in her direction.

"You were in there for a while, Naruto-ippan," the head of the Torture and Interrogation division of the company said tonelessly.

The Teton user tactfully evaded the question. "She's extremely frightened. She'll answer any questions you have."

The T&I leader went in without any further comments.

Naruto was still catching his breath. _Fuck, that was even more amazing that I thought it would be. I need Haku to do that for me. Haku…_ He felt a pang of something in his chest. What was this awful feeling? It wasn't pain, but something deeper. Was this…guilt? No, impossible- he was incapable of feeling guilt. The fact that he hadn't even recognized it lent itself to that fact. But what else could it be?

He shook his head and sped off to a different ship. It was time for his three hour-long chakra control training.

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Mei had sent a team of three to Konoha to request aid in the war. The leader of the team, a jonin by the name of Heiko, now addressed Minato and Jiraiya.

"We ask that you consider this not merely a moral issue of a group of people being systematically exterminated in a mass genocide, but also a potential political and military advantage for the state of Konohagakure. If you lend us significant aid in this war and we come out victorious, we will reward you with a treaty which is incredibly one-sided, especially by the standards of the present shinobi world- we will be willing to fight by your side for the duration of any war in which you engage, while you will be able to decide whether or not you would like to join any war in which we are engaged."

Minato nodded, clearly impressed with the terms at hand. Jiraiya was pleased with them as well. "These terms are very intriguing. The moral issue alone had me on the fence, but with this treaty in addition, I would be hard-pressed _not _to accept your offer. I trust that the council will agree," the Yondaime Hokage responded. "Tou-san?"

"I absolutely agree. That kind of help from anyone of the five great ninja villages would be indispensable, no matter what kind of state they're in."

"Arigatou, Hokage-sama, Jiraiya-sama. Kiri will forever be in your debt."

Minato smiled that beaming Senju smile. "There is one caveat- the entire western half of Mizu no Kuni is under loyalist control. Attempting to smuggle weapons, supplies, and troops through their blockades would be impossible. We cannot provide you with help until you take this island in the northwest, Hogo."

"Ah, I see. I will inform Mei-shushou of this. Again, your thanks from Kiri. Farewell and may you have a swift victory in your upcoming war," Heiko finished. Seeing that there was nothing left to be said, he and his team shunshined away.

"Oh, yeah," Minato sighed. "That."

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**Let me know what you guys thought of the semi-lemons. These were the first ones I've ever written. I understand they were short, but let's be honest, at 13, Naruto's a two-pump chump at best. They'll get longer as they story goes on.**

**The nature of these lemons characterizes Naruto better than any description, interestingly enough. Pay attention to that. **

**Also, note our antihero's very complex feelings toward Haku. "That's funny, I thought he was a psychopath," you say. (Or, more likely, "You're fucking stupid, he's a psychopath, that's impossible, you fucking idiot. Kill yourself, you stupid asshole.") The answer to your assumptions is already there for you. You just have to find it. Or wait 30 chapters. **

**Just as a friendly reminder if you are getting lost on the whole Islands/Cities/Railroads thing here is our message. ****I can't put a link on this website, but just type [barelyprodigies()deviantart()com] [() = .] into your browser of choice and you'll come upon it, just as a reminder. That'll contain lots of useful information in addition to the general geography of the place.**

**BarelySage is working on making the page more interesting by adding new content. So please check it out to be both informed and entertained by the art featured on the page.**

**Rate and Review. **


	13. Chapter 12

Ill-Fated

Chapter 12

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**Kiri Civil War: Year One: Senma Assault Part 1**

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A couple weeks later, third company had established their first foothold on Senma island- Gashi, a southern port town that in the past had been a quite wealthy city, but after years of neglect from the government it was soon reduced to a crime capital run entirely by gangs. These gangs, however, were quite rich, and more than willing, after a healthy dose of _persuasion _from the rebels, to share their food and weapons, with which they were replete, as well as allow them to make camp in their territory.

Other than the very few patrol ships that were quickly dispatched, there had yet to be any real resistance to the invasion of the island from the loyalists, as though they had been expecting it and were biding their time, awaiting what they thought would be the perfect opportunity to strike. Knowing this, Jei made sure to waste no time in making moves of his own. He had summoned Naruto to the makeshift headquarters that had been set up in the center of Gashi.

"The loyalists have yet to attack us- I'm of the opinion that they're waiting for us to launch a full out assault on the prison to set off some sort of trap, or ambush us somehow. They know they have inferior numbers, and I have no reports as of yet of reinforcements coming from Anaka, so they are on their own, forcing them to get creative. Therefore, I have a very, very vital operation for you to perform to give us the leg up in the fight for this island: a mission that consists of the assassination of Iso and a rescue.

"Senma prison, which houses about 15,000 rebels, is about fifteen miles away from the fort that houses the troops stationed there- far enough that it's not an eyesore and a temptation, but close enough that no reasonable person would attempt to sneak out the prisoners right under their noses.

"Too bad for the loyalists that war is not for the well-reasoned."

"Wait, my mission is to assassinate Iso and escape the island with all those prisoners?"

"In theory, it would be easier to just release them in the middle of battle, but most of these people haven't used chakra in years- even with their seals off, it will take some time for them to readjust to using jutsu. On top of that, they'll be completely unarmed, which will only lead to a lot of lost new allies. Also, correction- _our_ mission. I'll be giving you a team-"

"I don't work in teams. I'll be fine by myself."

"I don't recall asking for your opinion. I'm not your buddy asking you what you think; I'm your commanding officer telling you how things are going to be. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

The head general sighed. _He doesn't give a shit about anything, does he? _With a wave of his hand, three men dressed in the standard clothing of Kiri ANBU, complete with face masks each representative of a different bird, appeared. "Kiri's Infiltration Unit, which consists of separate divisions for Assassinations, Reconnaissance and Sabotage, along with our Hunter Ninja Unit, has long been praised as the best in the elemental nations. Very fortunately for us, most of this unit ended up on the rebel side, mostly because of the unspeakable missions Yagura forcibly coerced them to perform by holding their families hostage. Even ANBU still have morals, after all.

"But enough rambling- Naruto, meet Robin, Finch and Hawk. First and second company chose the grisly, seasoned vets, but I've always put my stock in a high talent ceiling and youth. These three are the crème de la crème of young Infiltration shinobi, which, if you were listening just now, is something of a big deal. They were so good, in fact, that they were placed outside the confines of the usual division and taught everything. As long as you're kicking, these three will be the ones by your side, always on discreet operations, but sometimes on the battlefield as well. I suggest you four get to know each other before this mission. I expect you back here at precisely 2315 hours tonight. Understood?"

Four nods answered him, so he left to tend to other duties. His departure prompted a tense silence between Naruto and the three ANBU. Neither party moved an inch.

"Jei-ippan suggested we get to know each other," Robin finally stated drily.

"Why do you bear animosity toward me? Surely you're not bitter about being captained by a thirteen-year-old?"

"Of course not," Finch answered. "We have all been in your situation- stronger than our elders, and therefore given the responsibility of leading them. Age and skill have no correlation in shinobi matters."

"A lack of trust, then?"

"Indeed. Quite simply, we have no reason to trust you, and the years we spent in ANBU under Yagura have led us to believe that trust is hard won, and harder kept," Hawk explained.

"No reason? Isn't it quite clear that I'm devoted to this cause?"

"From the outside, yes, it would seem that way for the most part. But I am an expert sensor, and your chakra- well, quite frankly, it's disturbing. It has a coldness the depth of which I have never felt before, yet, underneath the surface, lies a hatred that burns so hot the sun itself would wither under its glare. We wonder what you are," Hawk answered, not once changing the direction of his gaze or the tone of his voice, just like the other two.

There was silence for a moment. "There is nobody else here," the young general finally said. "Take off your masks. A man's face reveals more about him than any of his words."

They were barely twenty, if that. They all had handsome faces under their short, dark hair, although scars jutted haphazardly between their attractive features. Naruto had been worried they were just green rookies who were way in over their heads, but these scars and the emptiness in their eyes made it clear that they had seen comrades die many times over- some as a result of their own shortcomings.

"Let's not worry about my purpose for now. What are your ambitions?"

"They are precisely as Jei-ippan said, but in addition to that, Hawk and I have a kekkei genkai. We truly love our people, and wish to see that tyrant overthrown as swiftly as possible so that Mei-shushou can lead this country down a more prosperous and righteous path," answered Robin.

"I see. I must admit, I do not bear the same admiration for my country that you three so nobly do," the young one admitted. "Mine, however, is an ambition that will obliterate the entire loyalist army by itself if it must. I cannot force you to trust me, but know this- I will do whatever it takes to win this war and kill Yagura with my own two hands. Is that understood?"

"Yes, taichou," they chorused.

"One final question: how long have you three been serving together?"

"Nearly seven years."

"Excellent. Let's discuss combat abilities."

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By 2355, Naruto's team was on the move. They had donned swimsuits complete with oxygen tanks to cover the distance from their ships to the island, which was nearly three miles. Chakra dashing would have alerted every sensor in the area of their location, and walking was too risky because of the fact that they had no cover to shield themselves from the patrol ships constantly surveying the area around the island.

They made good time to the prison. For a normal chunin, it would have taken several hours, but for this team it took only two. To a normal chunin, the spot they stopped at were the ruins of some long-forsaken hut. But to this team, it was an imposing concrete building of impressive size, old, worn and gray, with thousands of souls inside.

Naruto gathered his new team.

"The second I kill Iso, you all know what to do. I can sense him very faintly to the northeast, so he should be out of the way enough to prevent our fight from setting off any alarms. I'll draw him away further just in case. Once I contact you that I've destroyed the seal, you all know what sectors are yours to clear.

"Wow, it just hit me how truly dangerous this mission is. The chance that an alarm goes off and the entire island comes down on our asses is immeasurably high. You three better be up to snuff if you expect to complete this mission successfully."

"Don't worry, we are. Jei-ippan doesn't put his trust in just anyone, especially for missions of this magnitude."

Naruto didn't answer, but shunshined away.

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The young Senju found himself at a relatively humble ranch house surrounded by a simple but excellently-kept garden. The spring season had given way to Indian paintbrush, hydrangeas and sunflowers populating the fresh soil. The house was in the middle of an open field flanked two ways by forest, the other by a river and the last the way Naruto had come, which led to a developed road and the prison.

As expected, due to the very late hour, no lights were on inside the house. The young man found it strange that a hardened, no-doubt wholly evil loyalist A-rank general shinobi would live in such a tame and familial establishment, but did not meditate on it for too long.

He activated what was perhaps his favorite jutsu: **Wind Embodiment Jutsu**. The transformation of one's body into the (or one of the) elements for which they have an affinity was always classified as a kage level technique for that element, considered to require the greatest level of elemental manipulation. At this point, his wind manipulation was not quite at that level, powerful though it was, yet his affinity for managing to circumvent conventional knowledge was stronger than his affinity for any chakra nature. So learn the jutsu he did.

He swept through the crack in the door and to what he assumed was the hallway which led to the bedroom. He slipped through the crack of a door at the end of the hall, and what he "saw" (the **Wind Embodiment Jutsu **is known to allow the user sight somehow, although the few who have ever been able to use it have been neither willing nor able to explain it) surprised him ever so slightly: Iso wasn't the only one here. There was a woman in bed with him, a child about two years old between them, and a crib with a child only a few months old inside. Naruto hadn't sensed them because they didn't have active chakra coils.

The one thing he hadn't gotten down was killing people in that form, so he materialized by the bed on Iso's side. He formed an iron spike and prepared to slice the loyalist's jugular.

His heart stopped when he felt a hand grab his wrist. Before he could move, a kunai was on his neck and he heard a whisper: "I wouldn't move another inch if I were you."

"That's funny," Naruto answered with a smirk. "If I were you, I'd do the exact opposite."

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The genjutsu had been impressive and thorough, at least. _But these Senma islanders put far too much faith in their illusions. It's sad, really. _

Naruto had already made the call in to his teammates to begin the second phase of the mission as he pondered his incredibly swift victory. _I almost regret not being able to see if it was true that the guy had four elemental affinities; then again, some A-rank ninja that was, falling for an explosive clone. I swear, shinobi are so much fucking weaker in reality than their ranks make them seem. Then again, not all of them have a 150+ IQ. But who's counting?_

The young man hurried back to the prison. By the time he got back, Hawk and Finch were outside the main door, standing idly and occasionally checking their watches.

"What are you two doing!?" their captain said indignantly. "You need to be in there doing shit!"

"Robin's got it. We incapacitated all the guards already. He's sealing everyone into scrolls to make this transportation a lot easier."

"Ok, there is no scroll large enough to seal all those people into."

Hawk sighed. "He takes full advantage of the zero sum law of sealing, that no matter how full a seal is, the space it takes up when sealed into another seal is the same as though it were empty: he seals twenty scrolls into one scroll, then twenty scrolls into each of those twenty, and so on. Robin is constantly carrying tens of thousands of scrolls on his person, all in the space of a scroll small enough to carry inconspicuously on his person. So he's got more than enough to seal all those people."

Naruto slowly nodded as he wondered why he had never thought of that himself. He also mentally sighed in relief. If he was being perfectly honest with himself, he knew that even he probably would not have been able to succeed in the mission. For all those people unused to using chakra, the trip might have taken upwards of a day. By then, they would have been swarmed by every loyalist on the island. "And you two don't know how to seal humans?"

"No, taichou. Robin is the fuinjutsu expert among us. He's got shadow clones helping him, so he shouldn't be too long."

Sure enough, it was a matter of minutes before he came out, tucking away the scroll as he walked. "The hardest part was convincing them that we are on their side, then that sealing them is completely safe."

Suddenly the dark-haired captain cocked his head to the right, toward the direction of the "house" from which he had just come. "Hawk, do you..."

"Yes, taichou. This is troubling."

"What's wrong?" Finch demanded.

"Some silent alarm must have gone off. Thousands of shinobi are headed this way from the northeast."

"Not just the northeast," Naruto corrected. "They are coming from every direction. This trap was set quite a while ago."

"How can that be? Was there perhaps a barrier we missed?"

"No, that's impossible. We would have sensed it. We can theorize later, but for now we need an escape route. I strongly disbelieve that even with all of our skills we can take on this many enemies."

Perhaps any other group would have been scared nearly to death, but these four were calm as the breeze passing through the area. They silently considered various modes of extraction.

"I have a plan," Naruto said as he pulled out a scroll. "Hurry, they're very close."

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Several legions of Kiri loyalists descended upon the prison. Upon the command of their officers, they began furiously searching the area nearby. Many minutes later, they reported the prison as empty, the trail of the prisoners being nonexistent, and the trail of their shinobi escorts as going cold just outside the entrance. After a good bout of yelling from a few legionnaires, the group of thousands mutually decided to move their search elsewhere.

One centurion, an expert sensor, approached his legionnaire just before they all took off. "Sir, I sense a chakra signature somewhere around here. It's sort of wispy and difficult to distinguish from just normal air, but I do believe someone is somehow hiding themselves in the air."

The legionnaire gave him a perplexed expression- then burst into laughter. "Don't be ridiculous, soldier, that's impossible. We've been ordered to search the southeast, so bring your century and follow me."

The centurion sighed and reluctantly nodded. A few minutes later, the prison had been abandoned once again. Naruto materialized from the wind and pulled out a scroll. Upon making the appropriate hand sign, three shinobi were unsealed from it and appeared before him.

"If I may say, that was an excellent plan, taichou. And I don't give out compliments freely," Finch said.

"Let's idle around here no longer. We have allies to deliver."

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Taking Tantatsu Island had been a breeze for second company. The place was nothing but farms for miles, with around 7,500 soldiers stationed there, if that. It was definitely the most top-heavy company- Kisame, Itachi and Zabuza probably contributed a third of the casualties by themselves.

The problem came with the next targets: Kanshi and Ranso. Kanshi was the largest prison in Mizu no Kuni; Ranso, apparently a navy and weapons depot- and they just happened to be right next to each other, close enough to see one shore from the other. On top of that, Ranso was not much further from the southern city of Meizo, which no doubt had a significant number of troops itself.

Fortunately, Intel in the form of a message from first company had come through: Ranso had a relatively small number of troops, about 16,000, while Kashi had less than 2,000 because of its small size and proximity to the other island. These numbers seemed low, the message admitted, but that was because there was a reallocation of troops to Meizo after many of their troops were sent to the center of the mainland. The prison, meanwhile, held 20,000 troops.

Itachi, as always, was very wary of the information; however, as he considered why he was, he realized it was nothing more than a gut feeling. No solid evidence supported this feeling, so he dismissed it as well as he could.

Kisame, of course, was fully on board. "This says that right now, the troops are still readjusting to their numbers and so are out of whack. I say we ready to launch an attack by tomorrow!"

"I agree," Zabuza stated. "If we can catch them off guard, this company will have even fewer issues dealing with them. With all those prisoners added to our forces, we can take Meizo within weeks."

Itachi was about to input his own opinion, but quickly retracted it. Their reason was sound, and the rebels' plan had always been to end the war as quickly as possible to minimize casualties. This temporary shortage of troops might very well be the opportunity they were waiting for. Besides, they had spent enough time on that barren island.

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Kisame's legendary sword Samehada purred as it took the blood of yet another victim. The four-star general's grin widened as he saw how his company was dominating its foes. Just as the Intel had said, the number of troops on these islands were far inferior to their own.

That is, until Itachi shunshined to him with very troubling news. "The intel was inaccurate. Tens of thousands of troops swung around our flank while thousands more have emerged from underground this island. We are surrounded and outnumbered."

"What!? Goddamn it…spread the news, we are on full retreat mode back to Tantatsu. I will hold off those troops as best I can."

"Use your head, Kisame. You can't possibly hold off over forty thousand loyalists all alone. The company will have to fight their way through."

The Hoshigaki gazed back at all the rebel ships anchored by the island. Ranso was a small island, so they had surrounded it. He grimaced slightly as he realized that while they would come out of this missing a lot of ships, they would probably lose more than enough men to balance it out. He could already see the enemy navy closing in from the east, while more and more of their land troops approached on land from the west. It was a hell of a position to be in.

"Fair enough. Here's the plan: I take 10,000 and clear a path that way. You and Zabuza stay here and do what you can against these."

"Very well. Good luck, Kisame."

"I think you need it more. Don't use those eyes too much."

"No promises."

By the time the loyalist ships were halting behind the rebels', Kisame had gathered his troops and launched the attack.

Most soldiers had abandoned their ships and set to fighting on the ocean's surface. The numbers disadvantage was obvious from the start, but Kisame and his monstrous chakra were doing an excellent job of diminishing it- until a man in gold armor jumped into his path. The shark-man ran at him and tried to slice him like many of the rest, but this man deflected the strike with ease and tripped Kisame for good measure. After being sent skidding and getting up, he saw the man clearly: he was a bit taller than Itachi, but with a remarkably long wingspan. He sported the blue hair that was common in that country, but it was in a buzz-cut instead of being spiked.

"Kisame Hoshigaki," he said venomously. "Pleasure to be the last face your pathetic eyes see."

"What's up, guy who isn't important enough for me to know and who will be dead in five minutes? The pleasure is all yours."

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Meanwhile, Itachi was dispatching centurion after centurion with Katon jutsu after Katon jutsu. He barreled his umpteenth fireball toward a group of loyalists when it was cut short by a large wall of water. The Akatsuki glanced over to see a man with golden armor and dark red hair which was tied in a ponytail; it reached between his shoulder blades.

"I see right through your Uchiha genjutsu, it won't work on me," the man said. "I know not to make eye contact with you. Good luck beating me now."

"Your eyes see nothing. Prepare to meet a swift demise."

And so began the first battle for Ranso.

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**Rate and Review. **


	14. Chapter 13

Ill-Fated

Chapter 13

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**Kiri Civil War: Year One: Battles On Ranso and More Waiting…**

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The battle raged on ferociously about them. Waves swept violently underneath in perilous frustration from all the Suiton jutsu being thrown around. They seemed vulnerable targets, but all the grunts on the battlefield knew full well that none of them would survive an attack on either the golden-armored one or the one with the black cloak studded with red clouds.

Kisame silently analyzed his opponent. The armor of the loyalist general appeared remarkably lighter than the others; that, in conjunction with his notable lack of weapons, made him out as a taijutsu expert- in other words, it made him out as very annoying.

An A rank shinobi who relied primarily on taijutsu must be _really _good at it, and have plenty of ways to avoid ninjutsu attacks. This man was probably approaching thirty, at Kisame's best guess, and had scars that could only have been left by a Katon jutsu on his arms. These meant that he had experienced many, many fights, and had obviously survived all of them but also probably won a lot of them.

These thoughts flew through his head in the span of a few seconds, and now the Hoshigaki put together hand signs to keep the loyalist, who was now speeding toward him, at bay.

"**Suiton: Righteous Spikes!**" Out of the water around him emerged many long, sharp spikes as hard as metal, which then shot at the man. He was moving very fast, but not fast enough- after avoiding the first wave of them, they all turned back around, followed him and pierced him from behind.

The shark-man grinned until he suffered a powerful kick to the face which sent him flying.

_What the fuck? I just watched those spikes chop him to pieces!_ But there the man was, rushing over to kick Kisame while he was down. Samehada quickly healed its owner and he got up. The loyalist was running directly toward him, so he tried to deliver another blow that he was sure that it had struck. However, he found his momentum carrying him through the man, then receiving another powerful strike, to his back this time.

_He's leaving after-images. It can't be a genjutsu- Samehada would have broken it. I've never heard of a ninjutsu like this, though. Could it be he's just moving that fast? Damn, this is even more annoying than I'd thought it would be._

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Itachi had managed to draw his opponent away from the main battle being waged on the Ranso beaches. Zabuza was making swift work of the enemy, and the Uchiha didn't want his fight to be interfered with. Also, in order for his genjutsu to be more certainly successful, static surroundings were ideal; in the center of pitched battle, too many variables were in play that could potentially shatter an illusion. An isolated forest, however, was perfect for this.

The only thing Itachi had managed to discover about this general's abilities was that he seemed to be a big fan of his own Suiton jutsu. His manipulation, while not quite on the level of Kisame's, who could probably whip up an S-rank in the middle of a desert, was quite near it, as he was tossing B-ranks (that the Uchiha sensed could easily turn into A-ranks should the loyalist want them to) like they were party favors, despite there being no water source nearby.

Itachi often told his enemies that his eyes saw everything. This was hardly a bluff. The sharingan could pick up all the near-invisible tells of one who lied, but he had taken it much, much further. The Uchiha couldn't quite read minds, but he could decipher the most miniscule gestures and come out with the object's mindset and emotions at the time, a tool of immense power should its wielder know how to utilize it properly. Itachi Uchiha was precisely such a user.

Kisame might be able to use huge amounts of chakra whenever he pleased with little to no repercussions, but Itachi couldn't quite use his so freely, and there was still a large-scale battle to be fought after this little bout. There was no better way to preserve chakra against a difficult opponent than to tailor your strategy perfectly to their personality, and Itachi had always been patient enough to deploy this fighting style.

This man was clearly very headstrong, not worried at all about facing an obviously superior opponent. He was brash, unhesitating, willing to take risks and launch himself headlong into battle without analyzing the situation properly- precisely the opposite of Itachi, and the genius Uchiha's preferred opponent. A sprinkle of deception and a dash of the proper rhetoric would have this loyalist walking into a deadly trap.

The Uchiha landed them in a spot that he considered far enough away and sufficiently forested and evaded yet another Suiton attack.

"I'm tired of this bullshit! Stay still, damn it! **Suiton: Rapid-Fire Water Guns!**" The general held out both of his hands and made finger guns, out of which remarkably powerful, thin bullets shot out with great speed and in quick succession, seemingly without end. They all struck Itachi, only for his body to explode, revealing the target as a clone.

After a bit of searching ended fruitlessly, he was even more frustrated. "You can't hide from me for long, you damn Uchiha!" He peeled off his shirt to reveal many tattoos of various animals all over his body. "This is my clan's secret technique!" He hovered his hand over one of the tats and made a few hand signs. "**Summoning Jutsu!**" he cried, finishing it by slamming his hand onto the chosen ink.

In a large puff of smoke, a tiger appeared next to him and immediately pounced toward Itachi's hiding spot behind a tree nearby. The sharingan wielder could clearly tell that this was not like a normal summon- it did not speak, nor did it have any fighting abilities that a normal tiger would not have. The only thing remarkable about this cat in particular was that it obeyed its owner's will inexorably.

He had heard of the Uzami clan's not-so-secret technique, which allowed its wielder to tattoo images of animals onto his body and summon them at will. The pinnacle of the technique's users had the ability to call forth legitimate summon animals, with their human-like knowledge and advanced fighting ability; however, these people belonged to a very specific line of that clan and only came about once in a generation. This general clearly did not belong to that line.

Itachi threw a few shuriken at the beast and it disappeared in a puff, dealing with the pest at the expense of revealing his position.

"**Suiton: Water Cannon!**" The tree that the Akatsuki had been standing behind found itself in a million more pieces the moment the jutsu struck. He had managed to move well out of the way of that attack and formed his own.

"**Katon: Fireball Jutsu!**"

"**Suiton: Water Wall!** I've seen genin make bigger fireballs than that! Some S-rank ninja you are," the loyalist scoffed. "**Suiton: Water Dragon Bullets!**"

Itachi didn't have time to finish his own hand signs before the bullets struck him, immediately followed by the dragon, which rammed him powerfully against a tree behind him. He was completely immobile, presumably knocked out.

The gold-armored man swaggered toward his enemy. "That's all you Uchiha have, are those damn eyes." He pulled out a tanto on his back and prepared to decapitate Itachi. "There'll be a nice, big bounty on you, won't there? I think I'll keep that pretty little head of yours."

Just as he was dropped the blade, two three-sided pinwheel eyes pierced into his. "I did not lie when I told you your eyes see nothing. Your arrogance cost you your life." Without a word, the general fell unconscious to the ground and Itachi wasted no time in throwing a kunai through his heart. He had used an area genjutsu to make it seem as though the loyalist's attack had succeeded. Of course he knew genjutsu outside his sharingan; he hadn't become an S-rank shinobi just by looking at people. Naruto had never seen him fight, and Kisame wasn't well-versed enough in genjutsu to know the difference. As long as neither of them knew his full skill set he could avoid helping other members of that dreadful organization.

After a quick scan of the area, Itachi rejoined the battlefield.

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Unfortunately for Kisame, his opponent did not have such pronounced emotional weaknesses, or at least not any that he could notice- or cared to notice. Every solitary jutsu that he threw at this general would be avoided. Had he not had the healing powers of Samehada, the shark man would have been in a much tighter spot, but if that shinobi only continued to hit him with basic, if strong, taijutsu, he would never win.

The Hoshigaki had never been a patient people- the greatest of all of them was no exception. He had been hesitant before because of all the allies around him, but no more. He used a non-lethal Suiton jutsu to push everyone in the area far enough away that they would not be affected by this next attack. He then fused with Samehada, so that he became still more shark-like than before, complete with fins and joints that protruded even more.

"**Suiton: Water Prison Shark Dance Jutsu!**" The waves crashing around them rose up in a massive orb surrounding them both. Before Kisame could complete the accompanying hand signs which would summon the sharks that would chase the man down, the other general smirked and completed his own.

"**Raiton: Earth-Splitting Grand Shockwave!**"

_Shit, this guy was hiding his Raiton the whole time! _The rebel general had been horribly outfoxed. The lightning moved through the water incredibly quickly. The sheer size of the orb made it so that even when he dropped the jutsu, the lightning still had a current to pass through. It was a very powerful Raiton jutsu, and it struck him full-on in the chest. He fell ungracefully from that great height and struck the water, fully paralyzed. Samehada had separated just before the jutsu landed and now set to healing its owner.

The general sped forward and took out a kunai. "The great Monster of Kirigakure. How the mighty fall."

Kisame weakly laughed. "You think I'd use my real body to take _you _out…dumb bitch." As well as he could, he lifted an arm and made the ram seal, dispelling himself in a puff of smoke.

"What the fuck!? What kind of shadow clone can take that much damage?!"

"MY KIND, BITCH!" a voice boomed from behind, leaking massive amounts of KI and speaking in the blood-thirstiest way imaginable. "Let's see your afterimage bullshit get out of this! **Suiton: Poseidon's Wrath!**"

With inconceivable speed, the ocean waters within a twenty yard radius of the loyalist general opened up underneath him, sending him falling hundreds of feet to the now-dry ocean floor, a massive aquatic typhoon spinning, towering above him. Before he had time to truly consider the trouble he was now in, countless tridents rose formed of the water emerged ominously around him. "Long live Mizukage-sama," he whispered and closed his eyes. Kisame watched greedily as the tridents easily cut him to pieces, soon followed by the water filling back in far too quickly, making ships even hundreds of yards away keel over from the magnitude of the ensuing waves. A shorter man with a matching cloak appeared behind him.

"I sensed a large amassment of chakra and came running."

"You worry about me too much, Itachi."

"Well, I assumed it wouldn't take an S-rank jutsu to finish your opponent. I took mine out with a simple genjutsu."

"You know as well as I do that the skill level of A-rank shinobi varies greatly. Besides, it was just a blood clone- you know, the kind Naruto showed us." Kisame said, seething slightly.

"Yes, I'm aware, but you can't blame me for having a bit of fun. It's too bad that technique takes such a massive amount of chakra, or I'd use it myself."

"Look, are we going to go back to the battle or just sit here chatting?"

"What do you mean, Kisame? I'm already there." He dispersed into a murder of crows.

"Damn you, Itachi," the general muttered.

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_Do you know what it means?_

Naruto stirred awake. Sunbeams peered chastely through the small window of the iron hut he had built. The echoes of a distant memory, a dream perhaps, tugged at his subconscious with a gentle persistence. He spent no time attempting to uncover it, instead rising so that he sat up on the edge of the bed.

A soft hand touched his arm. "Please stay a little longer," Haku pleaded.

Her melodious voice stoked his already significant temptation. There was truly nothing he wanted more than to stay in bed with her, passing the day cocooned in her delicate warmth.

But- "I'm sorry baby," he whispered gently back, interrupted by a deep kiss between them, "but Jei can't know I was ever here. You know what he thinks of us being together."

"Ugh." Still only half-awake, she buried her face in a pillow. "It's not fair. We shouldn't have to do all this sneaking around just to get intimate."

"Jei's very protective of you, but you're his only family, you know."

"But you're so sweet to me! You would never do anything to hurt me. Right?"

"Of course not, baby. I love you way too much for that," he answered with a smile.

She sat up and hugged him from behind. "I love you too, Naruto-kun."

"You stay bundled up here. I should probably meet up with my team anyway." Without another word or even a hand sign for a signal, his form evanesced, leaving Haku grasping at the slight draft wafting through the room.

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The ebony-haired young man slowly winded his way to the area that had been tentatively labeled the training area of this temporary camp. Third company had already been there for two and a half weeks and impatience was running high with soldiers wishing to capitalize on the great victory earlier. The facts were, however, that all the new prisoners were still being processed and accounted for- simply tossing twenty thousand-plus soldiers into the mix of a well-organized army in the middle of a war without taking the necessary precautions was begging for trouble. This time period also gave the new additions ample time to get readjusted to molding chakra and using jutsu.

Naruto had two primary objectives: catch up with his team, and search around for any great new pickups from the Senma prison. The rebels knew Ranso prison was the one that was meant to keep all the high-ranking shinobi, but out of all those people in Senma, there had to have been a few excellent ninja that were sent there anyway.

Presently the lieutenant general arrived at the training area, which, predictably, currently housed his team, who were cleaning various weapons. Strangely enough, none of them were wearing masks- the only thing relating them to their personas now were small Kiri insignias of different colors stitched onto the breasts of their otherwise completely black ANBU uniforms: yellow for Finch, red for Robin, blue for Hawk. The sun was still making its slow crawl up the horizon.

"Do you three always wake up this early?"

Three nods answered him. "Early bird gets the worm and all that," Finch said.

"If the worm is a clean katana, then yes, you certainly have it," Naruto mumbled.

"Once you get into the habits we were forced into for so long, it's hard to break out of them," Robin explained further.

"Forced into?"

Hawk sighed at the dueling kunai he was wiping off while Finch prepared a response. "We're eighteen now; seven years ago, at eleven, just after graduating from the academy, we were torn from our families and installed in a top-secret branch of Kiri ANBU known as VAPOR. From there it was-"

"Twenty-four/seven training? Murdering small animals? Slaughtering all your comrades?" Naruto leaned back in a chair he had found and put his hands behind his back, inspecting the cherry blossoms hovering through the air with seemingly great intent. "Yeah, I know all about that. Seems like you got the same treatment I did- except, of course, that I started at three, not eleven."

Robin choked on the tea he had been sipping and Finch inadvertently dropped the shuriken pouch he had been holding. Hawk raised his eyebrows and looked up from his work.

"Kami…" They were all thinking the same thing: _How is he still in one piece? The trauma this poor kid had to go through..._

Luckily for Naruto, he had all the loose screws necessary to survive such an experience without much physical evidence. But in a way, he wasn't in one piece- he had always been missing a part of himself. _Always? _

In the shinobi world, pity was a useless currency, so the Teton user's team spared him none. The lack of pity left a conversational vacuum; what does one say after hearing something like that? Fortunately, Finch, ever the conversationalist, came up with one.

"So that's why you fight- to get back at the people who did that to you?"

Naruto briefly considered telling the truth. "Yes, my agenda is one of revenge." Ah, the beloved half-truth.

"I certainly can't blame you for not being such a big fan of your village, even if the loyalists were the ones who did that to you. Just consider us glad you didn't decide you wanted to wipe the entire country off the face of the map," Robin observed.

Hawk and Naruto both nonchalantly raised their heads. "Someone has quite a bit of chakra," the older one said and looked back down at the weapons scattered about him.

"Must be an old prisoner. It's good there's someone who's decent from this prison."

"I swear, it's like you sensors have your own language," Robin said with clear annoyance.

"Someone used a large-scale Suiton jutsu over to the east," Hawk responded. "Like taichou said, it's probably a new guy showing his stuff."

"Oh, that's good."

Silence blanketed the four of them. Naruto took out Kurokage and Shirokage to begin his own cleaning.

"So I couldn't help but notice- no masks?"

"That was another thing we kept out of habit and really for no other reason. It hurts the spirit of camaraderie if we're seen as some kind of sect separate from everyone else. But the codenames stay, for now at least."

"Fair enough," their captain allowed.

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Impatience had stricken first company too, but to a much greater degree. They were the only company yet to fight a battle and had already spent several weeks in Otari, idly waiting for an order that seemed never to come. Soldiers had taken up board in the many hotels and apartment buildings throughout the center of the city. Slips of paper imploring everyone to take the necessary sanitary precautions were constantly circulated throughout the camp- as the last thing the rebels needed, with their already much smaller numbers, was a disease to thin their numbers even more. The bars were constantly full; it seemed that the only thing the loyalists had left behind in their thorough evacuation were the city's entire supply of alcohol. At first, Mei had issued an order prohibiting drinking any of it, but as the weeks wore on, spring wore gradually into summer, and temperature highs of the mid-seventies wore into the mid-nineties. In addition, between supply shipments from Ome, water was an increasingly limited commodity. Enforcement of the order ground to a halt. The commander-in-chief suspected this was a clever ploy from the loyalists, drugging the enemy into weakness, but was nearly powerless to stop it, except by moving them. Unfortunately, that was not yet an option.

It was of this that she was now attempting to convince Ao.

"Mei, I understand that we have a precise syncopation with third company, but in war, things rarely go as planned. The supply shipments from Ome can only come in so often, and the soldiers are growing very, very restless. We have to move now, before we drink and bore ourselves into oblivion."

"Ao, to put it quite simply, I trust our men. In addition, if we move now, where will we go? Launching a premature attack on Soza would prove devastating, and that's without taking into account any traps the enemy might have lain between here and there. It's very likely they already know our plan of attack. We need third company to take Senma island and be in the process of taking Anaka island before we leave so that our two companies can form a synchronized attack on the city from land and sea. This will be the most efficient and effective way to take it. I don't want to tell the troops this because I have no doubt that there are spies among us. What do you think, Chojuro?"

The bespectacled young man raised his head. "I think we spent a very long time thinking up this plan and therefore should follow it as best as possible. I have no doubt that third company has the strength to take those two islands soon."

Ao sighed deeply. "Fine. I'll do what I can to calm down the troops without telling them anything too important."

Mei smiled. "Thank you for your patience, Ao. I appreciate a lieutenant general who is strong enough to question his commander without disrespecting her."

The man with the eye patch bowed and did the best he could cover up the scowl he wore once he had turned to leave.

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	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Kiri Civil War: Year One: Senma Assault Part 2

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A few hours later, Kisame opened up a hole in the loyalist line large enough for second company to escape back to Tantatsu through. The enemy made no large show of pursuit, content to hold back and lick their own wounds. It was a devastating first loss for the rebels. The leaders quickly realized that Ranso and Kanshi were prizes that would be won with, at very best, a Pyrrhic victory, unless they got either very good or very lucky. Kisame and Zabuza would curse their myopia for months to come.

**REBELS: 2****nd**** Company**

**Initial troop number: 30,000**

**Casualties: 2989 dead, 4500 injured, 97 captured**

**Final troop number: 25,369**

**Initial ship number: 1500**

**Ships lost: 1296**

**Ships captured: 8**

**Final ship number: 212**

**Loyalists: Ranso and Kanshi**

**Initial troop number: 44,250**

**Casualties: 1601 dead, 2377 injured, 4 captured**

**Final troop number: 41,846**

**Initial ship number: 10.213**

**Ships lost: 56**

**Ships captured: 980**

**Final ship number: 11,137**

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Kisame had gathered only Zabuza and Itachi in his war room (really a hastily set up tent) immediately after the retreat had been completed and all had become relatively calm. Soldiers had to set up their tents again in utter shame between tears for their fallen comrades- they had packed all their belongings, expecting only to have to return to move their things to the next island, Ranso.

The Hoshigaki hurriedly closed the flap of the tent tightly and used a jutsu to prevent any sound from escaping.

"Ok, there's a fucking mole and we have to find that person right fucking now," he whispered, despite the sound seals.

"You're way overreacting," Zabuza said at perfectly normal conversational volume, which slightly irked his comrade. "Inaccurate information comes through all the time, it's an inevitable aspect of war. We just got very unlucky," he finished despondently.

Just then, a lieutenant, presumably high chunin, whose eyes were red from all the tears he'd recently shed, pushed open the tent flap despite the man trying his very hardest to hold him back. "Fuck y- let go of me, Ukaru! It's all because of you generals and your stupid greed and idiotic strategy that my wife died out there! My fucking wife! So- Ukaru I swear to Kami!- so go fuck yourselves you trash! I mean who the fuck does a frontal assault on an island like that? Don't you know anything!"

Kisame stalked over in rage to deal with him. "You know what, you disrespectful-"

"Wait, Kisame," Itachi interrupted. The one named Ukaru jumped in front of his mourning friend before the Uchiha could finish.

"Please forgive him," he pleaded, bowing low to his superiors. "He truly wants nothing more than to win this war and he's normally very respectful. It's just that he really, really loved his wife and he's always been an easily moved person."

The three leaders of the company ignored him. "What is your name, soldier?" Zabuza said, addressing the insolent one.

"Uh, uhm, i- it's Reiga," he muttered as he realized his terrible mistake and brushed aside his thick, light green hair.

"What would you have done in this situation, assuming you knew already that we would be heavily outnumbered," Itachi continued in his typical monotone.

"Oh, uh, well, ok," he stuttered as he led the four of them, including Ukaru, to a map of Mizu no Kuni on the wall. "So here's Ranso and Kanshi, in the south, right? And there, right above them, on the mainland, is Meizo, a major port city. So what I would've done is…um…I guess, cause a commotion in Meizo, drawing all their numbers over there, then cut their ships off from returning with some sort of large-scale Doton or Suiton jutsu. In that window we'd release the prisoners, destroy their weapons factory, take all the ships we can and destroy the rest, and get out before the bulk of their forces are back from Meizo. It's simple, but I think it could work."

"Problems: Meizo has forces of its own, so reinforcements from Ranso would most likely be minimal and we'd still be vastly outnumbered; extraction for one of us three, who are the only ones who could cause a significant enough amount of chaos in that city, would be next to impossible; finally, next time you decide to make a scene just so you can share a thoroughly flawed plan, don't," Itachi said. "I was almost hopeful for a second."

"You mean you made up that story about your wife just so you could get in here and tell us your stupid plan!? Fucking pathetic," Kisame muttered.

"See," Ukaru began, "I told you they weren't _stupid. _Just lacking a good strategist."

Reiga chuckled as his friend produced a map of their own from a pouch he carried. "Alright, fair enough. You three, come here." Kisame and Zabuza were well beyond the threshold of confusion; even Itachi was wondering who the hell goes to so much trouble for the sole purpose of sharing a strategy, but the fact that he was now ordering them around was decidedly perturbing.

The map Ukaru had taken out was laid on top of the last one. It was of Mizu no Kuni, just like the other, but was coated with arrows and symbols that bordered on indecipherable. "Ok, that was a fake plan to see if you three are totally useless or not- we're relieved that you at least have an _idea _of what constitutes a decent strategy and what doesn't," Ukaru explained. "Here comes the real one. Listen closely."

"Between Ranso, Kanshi, Meizo, and Chazu, which is right behind those three," Reiga continued, "there's upwards of 100,000 loyalist troops in our direct path. I believe the scientific term for that is a 'fuckload'. There's absolutely no way we'll be able to defeat them with under 30,000. If we're to believe Sun Tzu, which I certainly do, you should only attack a fortified position if it is absolutely necessary, and then only if you have three times as many men as the other side. They have more than three times as many men as we do, which puts us in quite a predicament. Quite frankly, there are no diversionary tactics in existence which will win us a battle with that many enemy soldiers. We're screwed until first company finishes their northern campaign."

"Well then, what the fuck was the point-"

"Wait! He never said we couldn't do anything in the meantime," said Ukaru. "We are going to be here on Tantatsu for a very, very long time, most likely. What we need to do in the meantime is build incredibly strong fortifications to dissuade them from attacking us. Obviously they'd never come at us with all 100,000 or even 60,000, but better safe than sorry. Then we can employ the three S's: Spying, Sabotage and Subterfuge. By the time first company arrives, we can have them hungry, frustrated and confused to a very high degree, if you three will only listen to what Reiga and I have to say. Let's be honest- the southern campaign of second company is the most important of the war, probably the biggest step to victory, but our numbers are limited. We can't afford to have another huge fuck-up like that slaughter we just came out of. So…what do you think?"

Silence pervaded the room. Finally the general of the company spoke. "I'm willing to listen to what you have to say," the shark-man allowed, "but if you ever disrespect me again, I'll feed your worthless corpses to my sharks. Fair enough?"

The two new advisors gulped. "Yes sir."

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"The Recon team just returned from searching the area, and things aren't looking good," Jei began. "The Senma forces are fully aware of how outnumbered they are and how dire the situation is, so they've holed up in a city in the west with a civilian population of about 35,000, the largest on this island. They know that we won't leave the village without eliminating them all, so they've dropped all their military garb and weapons and exchanged them for civilian clothes. Without a sensor, it's completely impossible to distinguish the roughly 20,000 loyalist ninja from the civilians, especially since the people are going along with it so flawlessly."

"What a cowardly fucking move," Finch spat. Jei, Naruto, and his team stood in one of the rooms of a motel in the town of Gashi, converted into the hub of operations for third company.

"It may be cowardly, but it was also extremely intelligent. I can't think of any strategy that will both keep the citizens unharmed and not take months to complete. We need to move as soon as possible- first company has been at Otari for far too long. So I gathered you all here in the hopes that you may have some way to do this."

"I've been working on something," Naruto volunteered, "that could make this quite a simple matter."

"Go on."

"Well, I use 'working on' loosely- it's really more of a theory. Sealing ninjutsu chakra into seals is a very possible, albeit advanced form of fuinjutsu, so why not-"

"Genjutsu chakra," Robin finished, realization striking him suddenly. "If we could seal a genjutsu into hundreds of large-scale tags and place them discreetly throughout the city, we could separate our enemies from the civilians and make them easy targets to boot by keying the seals to have different effects on those who have active chakra and those who don't."

"How feasible is this?" Hawk asked, his interest piqued significantly.

"Theoretically, all it would take is ridiculously good chakra control," Robin answered as Naruto grinned.

"Which is exactly what both of us have."

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The city was bubbling with movement and excitement. Children played in the street while their parents shopped without a hint of frugality at the outdoor markets. The sun shone powerfully upon the place, casting its light upon the ornate brick highway and the laughing stream which ran alongside it. Summer weighed heavily upon Mizu, as far south as the country was, but this northern region did not feel it nearly so harshly. A pleasant breeze carrying the scents of fresh bread and sweet candies wafted past the noses of Naruto and Finch, who were under highly advanced henges completed with cover from a complex area genjutsu. It did not make them invisible, but they would fade into the background, wallflowers which no one would actively notice, as though they had been invisible all along. The surrounding civilians were either blissfully unaware of the war immediately around them or incredibly good actors, trying their damndest to shield the grief and fear they felt at having to put themselves and their children in danger to quarter their soldiers.

Over a third of the people they were looking at were soldiers and it showed. As the report had stated, none of them were wearing the clothes of a soldier, but that wasn't the only sign of a shinobi: they weren't even attempting to disguise their scars, their distrusting expressions, or their chakra, as Naruto could attest.

This was an extremely dangerous mission. Even though they were protected by henges and genjutsu and they were suppressing their chakra as much as humanly possible, a skilled sensor who was truly paying attention would be able to spot them. But this was their greatest advantage- none of their enemies knew that they had anything to look for. However, they were split up into pairs, as Naruto and Robin were the only ones who knew genjutsu advanced enough to hide them effectively, but they wanted to cover as much ground as possible.

The onyx-haired younger man discreetly slid yet another Tic-Tac sized seal tag underneath an empty stall by which they passed. This, the miniature seal, was something of Naruto's creation. This tag was not only much smaller, but held more chakra than a typical tag and had an automatic camouflage component, making it invisible to all but sensors and those with doujutsu.

He and Finch strolled through the masses of people, clearly in no rush. Suddenly the latter heard his captain's voice in his mind- it paled in comparison to what the Yamanaka clan of Konoha could do, but this was a very useful genjutsu, especially in situations precisely such as this.

_We are being followed. Do not look around. Just continue walking by me and do nothing. _They were two chunin level ninja; presumably one was a sensor. That neither of them had gone off to gather reinforcements was surprising but welcome. They were either incredibly arrogant or not certain enough of a real threat to bother disturbing the peace by calling in more help.

The captain sat down on a bench nearby and his subordinate followed. He sensed the two of them walking by, then turning around and walking past again, then turning around yet again, and so on and so forth for several minutes. Naruto had to let out a scoff at how poor their spying skills were. Unfortunately, he couldn't just kill them- even if he used tiny specks of his iron to make it impossible to tell who had done it, two chunin dying in the middle of the street would attract a bit more attention than was preferable. So another genjutsu it would be.

He waited for them to circle back around and made eye contact with one, then channeled chakra to his ears and focused in on their conversation to ensure it had succeeded.

"…is a waste of time, like I said. We look like idiots just walking back and forth in front of them like this. Look at what they're wearing- clearly just normal tourists looking to buy something."

"Then how do you explain the genjutsu?"

"How sure are you that there was one at all?"

"Well…I mean, pretty sure."

"You suck with genjutsu, Isabi. Let's just go, we're wasting our time."

Naruto and Finch patiently watched them go and resumed their route, making sure to reinforce the genjutsu. Despite the large range of the seals, it took several hours to plant thousands of tags throughout the city between the four of them; however, the rest of the mission went without incident, as both the captain and Robin had to use their genjutsu expertise to get out of several tight spots but were successful nonetheless, and met the rest of the team back at headquarters.

"I hope you four didn't use too much chakra, because we're going in tonight," Jei said. "The troops are all prepped and raring to go. They know the plan: wait until the genjutsu takes effect and drives all the civilians to the eastern side of town, head to the northwestern district arena, where all the soldiers will be piled up, our Doton users will bring the place down on their heads and we make it rain kunai on whomever is still breathing. You have two hours before we head out."

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Outside the boundaries of that western city was all of third company, itching with excitement. The moon shone fully on that night, which promised to be a bloody one. The only source of light other than that eerie glow from the sky were fireflies, thousands of them, dancing about the forest in which the soldiers awaited the command to launch their assault. Privates and captains and sergeants alike checked their weapons one last time, effecting a symphony of metal scratching metal in a forest otherwise silent as the grave.

The lieutenant general and his lover shared one last passionate kiss under the starlight.

"Please be safe," Haku pleaded, her eyes echoing the message.

"You don't have to worry about me," he said back quietly as he tucked her hair behind her ear. "You just worry about taking care of yourself. I have to go now. Bye, Haku-chan." He kissed her cheek and ran off without waiting for a response.

She held her hand against her cheek where he had kissed her, as though it would escape if she didn't. "Goodbye, Naruto-kun," she whispered, but only the wind was around to acknowledge it. She was alone again.

"I love you."

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Naruto and his team sped toward their destination with the practiced, utter silence of ANBU-level shinobi. They didn't share a word. Their minds were fully in mission mode: empty, totally empty, relying fully on instinct, the parameters of the mission submerged into their subconscious. In minutes they reached a conveniently located hill which overlooked the entire town. It was evening- the market was still buzzing as street lights lit. The captain sought confirmation from his superior, and once Jei gave the order, he nodded to Robin. In flawless sync, they performed the ram seal.

The disturbance in chakra was so large it was, in a strange way, visible to the four of them, as though the physical realm were bending into waves for a brief second. Without hesitation, a majority of those in the market and a sizeable number who had been in their homes sauntered off to the eastern side of town in unison. Meanwhile, a large minority performed the same zombie-like walk in the direction of the city's arena, purportedly the largest on the island, easily large enough to hold that number of twenty thousand.

It took everything the two of them had to focus on their objectives. It took razor-sharp concentration and precision to perform this correctly- one slip from exhaustion and the entire illusion would fall apart. All the seals could do was augment the range of the original illusion- Naruto and Robin still had to direct it. The former handled the shinobi, the latter the civilians. Finch and Hawk chipped in their own chakra. The two most likely could have completed the jutsu without the help, but this way they would not end up nearly so tired afterward as they would have been otherwise.

After no small amount of sweat and heavy breathing, both targets had reached their respective destinations- the seals would hold them there until the fight was over. Naruto put in the call to Jei, who in turn signaled to his troops that they were to follow him to the arena. Normally, a unanimous war cry would have shaken the air, but sound had to be kept to a minimum as any overt outside variables might disrupt the genjutsu. The four man-team that orchestrated it all jumped down and headed for the town.

"This is eerie as hell," Finch felt the need to comment as they raced through the empty, silent streets. The rest of the team nodded in agreement- having been here just hours earlier, seeing it as a barren wasteland was stunning. A feeling swept through Naruto- if anything were ever going to go wrong, it would go wrong now. It sent a chill through him. He desperately, desperately hoped everything would fall into place as it should. As the two groups neared the arena, he could clearly see cockiness oozing off the main force; after all, they must have been thinking, Naruto-ippan had taken care of it, so what could possibly go wrong?

A detachment of only 5,000 had been sent for this mission, two hundred of which were the best Doton users, as bringing the entire company to flood the town would have been cumbersome and was deemed unnecessary. The two hundred hurried into the arena through the normal entrance accompanied by Jei while Naruto took his team to stand on the ring that formed the lip of the structure. The sun had long since set, making it nearly impossible to make out the forms of the tens of thousands standing in the field and lower rows, but they were surely there, standing perfectly still, in a mental world of their own.

The Doton experts wasted no time in gathering in the lower levels and awaiting Jei's signals. They were still very far down- it was a massive stadium, built to hold above a hundred thousand people, which was perplexing considering that number proportionate to the population. In any case, they were without yelling distance- which made Naruto extremely worried as his senses picked up something exceedingly troubling.

"Hawk, do you-"

"Fucking hell, I do."

_Shit, they're too far for a shunshin! _He jumped down to run toward them, but by then Jei had given the signal. The ground fell out from underneath the targets and more rock rose up to pancake them. Twenty thousand people dead in the blink of an eye.

Twenty thousand helpless civilians killed at the hands of the rebel forces.

"What's up?" Finch asked casually, not noticing the horrified look distorting his comrade's face.

"They must have used some kind of fuinjutsu to form artificial active chakra pathways on those people," he breathed out, almost in a whisper, "the type of thing you can't notice unless you look for it. Those weren't shinobi, they were normal village people. We just killed twenty thousand…normal people."

A similar look of horror struck the other two members of Naruto's team. Finch fell to his knees and struck the ground while Robin gathered himself and ran off to inform Jei. Meanwhile, the captain himself was about to return to his team when he noticed an unnatural light from the corner of his eye. He ran along the rows of seats to a cubic depression in the side of a wall. It was an automated camera equipped with night vision, and it was recording. He looked at the screen behind the lens to see that it read "live". A note was stuck to the side of the machine.

_Now the whole country will see the true nature of you rebel scum. With love, Iso._

The Teton user cursed himself and destroyed the camera. They must have detected the seals and figured out how to counter the genjutsu, but how? He had been so sure of himself, and now public opinion would turn overwhelmingly against the rebellion- Konoha might even decide not to lend their aid anymore. But he wasted no more time wading in regret. It was very likely that a large-scale ambush was forthcoming, and if the note was true to its word then-

Several explosions rang out outside the arena. _Damn it, they're already here, and we're bound to be ridiculously outnumbered! _Naruto was thoroughly pissed off, which was about as common an occurrence as him losing a fight, but he had been outfoxed, outsmarted, and he hated absolutely _nothing _more than being outsmarted.

He slammed his hand on the ground after running through some hand signs, a black web of seal sprawling out below.

"**I hope this is a legitimate battle," **the fiery bird boomed.

"Yeah, no more training, this is the real thing. Haven't quite had occasion to call you before, but now I really need your help, Tengoku." He pointed to the phoenix's back and gave a questioning look, which it returned with a sigh, or as close to a sigh as a legendary beast can produce.

"**Yes, while I do not appreciate being ridden like some colt, my fire will not harm you." **Thus relieved of his apprehensions, he wasted no time in hopping on. It hurriedly rose up over the lip of the arena, showing Naruto the chaotic scene unfolding just outside.

The rebel forces were already in full retreat. The numbers were far, far in the enemy's favor, outnumbering them more than four to one. Jei did what he could to help with the retreat, raising a mountain of ice between his men and the other side, but it didn't hold for long enough. Naruto directed his summon to hover between the two armies and they aimed their own jutsu at the enemy: "**Blistering Whirlwind!**" A small tornado was lit aflame and it decimated the densely packed, unsuspecting loyalists, causing horrible shrieks to poison the night air that had already been filled with the perturbing sounds of war.

Three black-clad figures descended to Naruto's side. "What are you three doing here? Go help those retreating." His tone brooked no argument.

"No can do, taichou," Finch asserted. "We all know what you plan to do, but you can't take all of these guys on by yourself."

"I'm just tired of being on this God-forsaken island. If you three insist on staying, we can use the narrow streets to our advantage. Other than that, same plan as always. Now go!" he yelled finally, just in time for the bird to elevate above a large Suiton jutsu, and they scattered obediently.

"Content yourself with wreaking havoc, Tengoku," Naruto called as they flew above the enemy lines and his team set to work. "I feel I'll be of more use on the ground." With that, he formed a few hand signs and preceded his fall with small grenade-like balls of lightning which exploded upon impact with the ground. Landing in the small clearing it formed, he was soon surrounded on all sides by enemies, none wanting to make the first move.

"If you insist on not making the first move, I certainly can." Iron spikes jutted out of the ground around him, instantaneously impaling dozens of people while the rest managed to jump out of the way. They all wasted no time in launching every jutsu they had at him, a menagerie of Suiton with the occasional Katon and Futon. As they rained down on him, he simply looked up at them calmly, admiring for a brief second their violent beauty.

Then he was gone, in a flash. "Where'd he g-" a man called out, rudely interrupted by a lightning-enhanced Kurokage piercing his head. Before anyone around him could react, a burst of electricity shot out from their target and fried their circulatory systems. Naruto paused momentarily to allow the soldiers to get a good look at him, and was unsurprised by their panicked gasps.

"It's…it's a lightning cloak!"

"But how?! Only the Sandaime and Yondaime Raikage have ever been able to do that!"

The Teton user smirked as bouts of electricity danced and crackled all around him, the static causing his hair to stand straight up and his cloak to be in constant motion. Cries rang out, testifying to Tengoku's and his teammates' work. "Aren't the possibilities phenomenal when you have such a total mastery of chakra control? Just a hair too much Raiton chakra coursing through my body would kill me, but it feels so good to stand constantly right on the threshold of death! It's exhilarating!"

The loyalists around him were now thoroughly horrified, the ones nearest him unconsciously backing away. Naruto grinned an awful grin at one of them. "Too late."

Meanwhile, the other three members of his little team were elsewhere, working together to eliminate the enemies in the most efficient way possible, drawing them into narrow streets, nullifying their numbers advantage. They were all very sure that if this were an open field and not a narrow residential district, they would not stand a chance against so many. Their captain preferred to fight solo, but they had always been best as a team.

They needed to buy more time for their plan to succeed, so they found a narrow pass with a wall which they could back up against. Robin immediately formed an illusion which made the walls seem much, much higher than they really were, to discourage the enemy from simply climbing the rooftops to surround them, knowing that they would be too focused on the exciting adrenaline rush of battle to pick up the incredibly subtle signs of a masterful genjutsu. They only needed a few minutes.

So the three of them set to forging a path paved with blood. Finch, the heavy-hitter, launched the inaugural jutsu: "**Katon: Fierce Glory!**" He blew multiple small but extremely dense balls of fire randomly above the enemy forces and watched them hover, then, a brief second later, crash down in huge explosions, unhindered by the few weak protective Suiton that were thrown up. Hawk followed this up by charging his katana with lightning chakra and getting into the thick of it with his close-range expertise. Robin followed close behind, and was just in time as a rocket of water came dangerously close to striking his comrade and he jumped in front of it with a hand outstretched: "**Meiton: Tenfold Rebound!**" Every drop of the water was swallowed up in a black hole shaped like a saucer, then, as the name suggested, rebounded at the large group of loyalists standing right in front of him with ten times the power. Wasting no time, five of them charged Robin with kunai, but he quickly deployed a genjutsu which knocked them all out immediately, so that the ones who had jumped ended up as unconscious bodies flying through the air.

"Robin, how much longer?" Hawk called, jumping away to gain some breathing room.

"Just a few more minutes!" came the answer with a little less certainty than could school his comrades' discomfort.

"Plenty of time for us to die," Finch muttered as he used yet another Futon wave to halt yet another hail of kunai from the soldiers who were too threatened to simply charge him. "In that case…six?"

"Yeah, six," they answered over the fray and jumped back to be even with their companion. Hawk immediately began forming hand signs and finished them in the blink of an eye. "**Doton: Grand Shift!**" First, short, jagged spikes erupted from the surface of the ground in the narrow street, tripping up the thousands of loyalists attacking them.  
>Then, before they could even fully hit the ground, it lowered dozens of feet, trapping them in a box hundreds of feet long but only about twelve wide. By then, Finch and Robin had already risen up and formed their own jutsu: "<strong>Inspired Wave!<strong>" The latter's mouth let out a large current of water, while the other sent a shockwave of Raiton through it. Hundreds of the enemy found themselves helpless victims of the simple yet startlingly effective collaboration- but it wasn't yet over. Finch immediately formed two shadow clones.

"**Sage's Hydra!**" Five dragons of each element formed, Hawk providing Doton, Robin Suiton, and Finch and his clones the other three, and combined to form one black, multi-headed beast, which proceeded to roar as though it had a mind of its own then charged the trapped shinobi who had not been eliminated by the original attack. Although it didn't quite show on their faces, the three of them were pleased with the resulting bodies piling up.

Robin cocked his head to the side. "It's done, just in time too. I have just enough chakra."

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This was the first time Naruto had had the opportunity to use his lightning cloak in pitched battle, and he was having _fun. _He was far, far too fast for any of the loyalists to dream of touching him. Any thrown weapons were hundreds of times more likely to injure a comrade than him, the same going for swords and other close range weapons. He was unstoppable, invincible.

That is, until a massive bolt of lightning cut his enjoyment short.

He was sent flying back out of the large crowd of loyalists, the Raiton strike outdoing his own protection of the same affinity. He noted the indiscrimination of the jutsu's user, as he had killed several of his own men simply to land an ultimately inconsequential hit on his foe. The lieutenant general scoffed when his opponent came into view with a grandiose gesture of riding on a wave over his men, his blonde hair hanging in bangs over his forehead. His armor was a hot pink rather than the usual gold for an island's general- this must be Iso.

_Quite the character. I suppose he thinks he's cool because he wears naturally effeminate colors, makes over-the-top entrances and kills his companions without a care? Not only is he an insecure wanna-be, but he entrusted the key to the Senma prison to a decoy body double. A poser and a coward? He will die a slow death. _

"Why, you're just a kid! And to think, you've been tossing these men around like trash…useless," he spat and cleanly separated a nearby centurion's head from his body with a keen Futon jutsu, seemingly just to prove a point- or to assert the dominance that he was doubtful he truly had.

_Alright, so that's three out of four, if the rumors are correct. Now all that's left is…_

"**Kat-**" Naruto decided not to stick around for the end of that one and recharged his lightning cloak, appearing in front of Iso in the blink of an eye. To the younger man's shock and dismay, the older one easily sidestepped the punch and simply tapped him in a carefully chosen spot on his ribcage, causing him to howl in pain as he flew by into the still-present crowd of enemies. He was able to regain his balance in midair and land safely on his feet, making a quick check on what damage had been done. _He must have been aiming to puncture my lung, but I was moving quickly enough that he missed. I'm going to have to be very careful meeting this guy close-range. _

Hundreds of iron shuriken formed from all over his body and shot out at the enemies slowly creeping toward him to fend them off while his primary target yelled, "You're the first person I've ever met could move fast enough to make me miss like that. And you're just a kid. You might've have been something one of these days. **Raiton: Emancipation!**" A tsunami of lightning rose up from in front of him and decimated every single soldier between the two of them, Iso not giving a care in the world that he had just killed two hundred of his unsuspecting underlings in one blow.

"**Teton: Center of Mass Jutsu!**" A highly dense ball of iron flew out to meet the massive wave of lightning and absorbed it whole, then dropped to the ground harmlessly, impressing Iso ever so slightly and resulting in the loyalist general noting that Raiton jutsu were useless against this enemy.

_He clearly does not care at all about killing his own men, for whatever reason that may be. If I play this correctly, I can get him to get rid of all his own men without me using a lot of my chakra. _He looked analytically around at the enemies coming at him as Shirokage decapitated another soldier. _And these loyalist fools don't know the meaning of the word 'retreat'. _

"**Katon: Pyre's Tears!**" Naruto jumped out of the fireballs' range, and a simple Suiton jutsu was enough to defend himself from the spread damage; dozens of loyalists suffered a very different fate. He smiled, finding this might be the easiest battle he would ever fight.

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Robin led the chase, his two teammates not far behind, with the thousands- even after the previous collaboration jutsu- a good distance behind. Seemingly at random, Hawk made the hand signs to form an immense wall of earth between them which slowed even the fastest of the enemies for a full minute. But the added distance quickly evaporated, and the three of them were forced by fatigue and the gigantic numbers disadvantage into the largest section of the market district, structured in a gargantuan circle which comfortably fit the thousands who piled in without a care, all shamelessly seeking the glory and acknowledgement which would inevitably come with defeating such powerful foes.

So there they were: Finch, Robin, and Hawk, backs against each other as they faced out in utter defiance against the hungry eyes and sharp taunts of their enemies.

Then, with sarcastic waves and smiles, they disappeared in puffs of smoke.

Panic flooded the crowd with impressive immediacy, then intensified greatly as a purple barrier rose up around them. Robin was focusing all his chakra into the manifestation of this massive seal: "**Fuin: Acidic Air Barrier,**" he coughed out. It took a fraction of a second to complete, far too quickly for any of the loyalists trapped inside to escape, and the fuinjutsu expert collapsed the second it was done, overcome with chakra exhaustion.

Before long, the poisonous oxygen inside was melting the skin off the encased enemies, a horrible sight none of the three wanted to see, so they turned around to go aid their captain.

"Hell of a plan, Robin," Finch said. "First you had to find the place, then you had to have shadow clones make the barrier seal, then you had to switch out your shadow clones and put them in the perfect place while we ran, then you had to-"

"He gets it," Hawk said with a chuckle as he carried his comrade slung over his shoulder like a fireman. "He gets it."

"We've all had our moments," Robin said with a tired look on his face as they maneuvered the rooftops toward the sound of explosions by the arena. "Let's just hope taichou hasn't gotten himself killed trying to get his."

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Tengoku was having his way with the loyalists, hovering well out of their range, simply coughing out fireball after fireball to quench them in white flames hotter than any star. His concentrically-ringed, metallic, purple eyes darted toward his owner with regularity to ensure he hadn't died of the constant A-rank ninjutsu his enemy was using without reservation. He was ever-so-slightly impressed by how large the chakra reserves of this Iso were, as they'd been going for quite a while and he had yet to slow down- then again, this was heavily outweighed by the fact that what had once been a company of at least fifteen thousand troops by that arena was now dwindling into the low two thousands. Of course, no small part of these casualties had been caused by Naruto and Tengoku themselves, but a startling number- if they were being honest with themselves, the majority- were a result of the carelessness of the loyalists' own pink-clad general.

But the Teton user found himself in an increasingly tight spot. With fewer enemies came fewer hiding spots and distractions- by now it was really just a bother that these couple thousand were around. The hope that Iso would use up all his chakra on this rampage was long gone by now; the man had seemingly infinite reserves. Naruto himself wasn't short on chakra, by any stretch of the imagination, but it was clear to him that he would not outlast Iso if it came down to it. Never one to seek aid, he secretly hoped his team would come back soon.

The ever-present pests finally overwhelmed his patience- he wanted it to be just him and Iso, a completely even fight. There were finally few enough that he could use a simple yet effective jutsu to end this bout. He formed the hand signs as he jumped well away from the fray: "**Teton: Minimizing Electric Sphere,**" he said calmly.

A thin layer of iron formed from the surface of the earth underneath all of the loyalists and caught them like a net. In a span of time much too short for any of those captured even to shout in surprise or panic, the net's ends met to form a huge, metallic ball large enough to fit all of them. It hovered ominously above the now completely bare ground- it had even captured Iso. Tengoku landed on the same roof on which Naruto stood, his master making hand signs. "**Raiton: Grand Splicing Current,**" he whispered. A powerful wave of lightning hit the dome full-on. Thousands of stuttered screams rang out within the giant ball, along with a sharp noise accompanied by a large dent. The lieutenant general hurriedly clenched his fist, making the huge ball condense in the blink of an eye- but Iso struck the wall again at the last second, green chakra glowing in his hand and a cloak of wind surrounding his entire body as he jumped out, leaving every one of his comrades to perish as the ball which contained all of them was soon the size of a speck of dust.

"Whooooooooooo! Now _that _was a close call, amigo! Really gets the blood pumping, AMIRIGHT!?"

_So fucking annoying. _

"Looks like it's just you and me now, clown! No more holding back!"

He ran forward and jumped onto the roof with Naruto while Tengoku flew upward.

"Go find my team! I think they ran off to the market district in the southeast!" he yelled into the eerily empty night as he jumped away from his pursuer. The phoenix solemnly nodded and flew off.

The younger man began to throw iron senbon, continuing to create new ones from his left and throwing with his right. This more irritated Iso than anything, which was clear on his face as he used copious Futon jutsu to deflect the pestilent weapons. But instead of simply continuing on past him, the dozens of senbon turned around in midair, drawn by a magnetic force, and flew back toward the pink-clad man, successfully piercing- a shadow clone.

_Predictable, _the rebel mentally mused. He sent a scythe of futon behind him, which Iso- this time the real one, his sensor abilities told him- regrettably blocked with a futon wave of his own.

"This is boring," Iso yelled. Naruto grudgingly had to agree. "Let's have fun!" Naruto grunted in disapproval. "**Suiton: Jagged Ripples!**" Water combined in a pool above the lieutenant general, impressive in its scale, then rained down sharp spikes. But the Teton user was too fast- he recharged his lightning cloak which gave him speed almost too great to track with the naked eye, and he easily got out of the wide, perilous field. He made another run at his enemy, but this time made eye contact seconds before reaching him. The general thought, for the briefest of seconds, that his legs were no longer underneath him; he fell and looked down, enough of an illusionary distraction for him to be off-guard and suffer a powerful kick to the face from an oncoming Naruto.

He fell to his back, prostrate on the ground, but the pain broke the illusion. He was rolling around on the ground holding his face in his hands, presumably in pain from the lightning-enhanced strike, as the rebel moved to kick him again while he was down. Iso, however, was feigning his pain, and shot a beam of fire without a hand sign at an unsurprised Naruto's face, and the younger man evaded it effortlessly and summoned an iron spike from underneath Iso to impale him. But the man wiled his way out of another hole by substituting with a pile of bricks on a nearby rooftop.

"**Suiton: Water Cannon!**" the loyalist cried, forcing Naruto to use the full speed of his cloak as he cursed the elusiveness of this enemy. The power of that lightning-enhanced punch seemed to have had no real effect. The walls of the taller building just behind him would boast remarkable, gaping holes in their stone faces for years to come as the powerful Suiton jutsu chased close behind its target.

"**Raiton: Shadow Grenades!**" As he ran, the Teton user bombarded his foe with lightning grenades which exploded on impact, forcing him to cancel his water cannon and use a wind wall to fend them off. However, a few of them inexplicably fell through the wall, and he turned away in preparation to jump away, expecting it to explode- only for him to turn back around when it hadn't gone off and find Naruto had substituted with it and was aiming a punch at his face.

This time, Iso's reflexes could not save him, and he caught the strike square in the jaw, followed with blinding quickness by a barrage of punches to the gut, an uppercut knee to the chin, and a spinning roundhouse to the face the force of which would have snapped the neck of nearly anyone, sending him flailing off the rooftop and onto the ground.

The pink-clad man responded by getting up and cracking his neck and knuckles.

"Well, that was downright adorable!" All the burn marks on the older man's body from the lightning healed themselves before Naruto's eyes.

_Who the fuck is this guy? _For just the second time in his life, he felt a horrible, foreign, paralyzing feeling- the stoicism breaking slightly, the lieutenant general's heart dropping into his stomach and his breath shortening and his sweat becoming even more palpable, almost making him feel human- that melted his confidence: fear, unbridled, sudden and horrible. This man was rebuffing every one of his techniques, taking every attack as though Naruto were a headstrong genin taking on a kage and Iso was letting the boy have his moment in the sun, amusing him.

"As much fun as it is to see you thinking you can actually beat me, I think it's my turn now," the loyalist continued. He jumped back onto the rooftop, his hands glowing bright green, and set off against his still-shocked opponent.

_Maybe I should retreat, wait for reinforcements. I can't take this guy!_

A potentially lethal punch grazed his hair as he ducked underneath.

_He's going to _kill _me. I can't die! I can't, I can't, I can't!_

He jumped back and the numbing effect of the green chakra just barely reached his stomach, frightening him even further.

Then he saw his mother's face. _A snowy field, white blanketing the plains, purity in spades. A beautiful woman, dark hair, milky, smooth skin, purity in spades. _

He sidestepped a right hook.

_I can't believe I let this fear overwhelm me. I can't…I can't just give up! She needs me! Her memory depends on me! I can't run! I won't die, but I won't surrender either!_

The memory of that angel driving him, a chakra-enhanced jump away gave Naruto the time to cancel the lightning cloak and reform his **Envy of the Samurai **armor under his skin. For whatever reason, the former was utterly useless against this enemy, but now with the latter, he felt comfortable engaging his enemy in taijutsu.

The two of them bounded across the rooftops and met in the air, Naruto with his two swords and Iso with his wind-enhanced tanto, the latter expecting violent sparks to fly and nearly blind them both- only for Shirokage and Kurokage to cut straight through the weapon like a hot axe through butter. The rebel had been expecting this, and used that forward momentum to turn into a high back-kick aimed at the shocked general's head. His otherworldly reflexes allowed him to catch the foot, ready to break the ankle, but they failed him when an iron spike from the heel pierced that hand.

"Fuckin' hell!" he yelled and jumped back, trying to buy himself time to heal the wound, but his opponent refused to give it- Iso was forced to fight with only one hand. Naruto leapt forward, swinging Kurokage from above and Shirokage horizontally from the left, but he substituted away and immediately summoned ten shadow clones to cover for him while he healed.

The lieutenant general knew he had to take advantage of his enemy's setback, and so pulled out a foolproof jutsu: "**Futon: Thousand Senbon Dome!**" The shadow clones all dispersed immediately, but the original managed to fend it off with a powerful defensive Katon jutsu which he formed with one-handed hand signs, the elemental advantage his savior.

_My chakra's low- I'm ending this now, but I need time. _He summoned an iron clone to make sure that Iso wouldn't be able to disturb the jutsu and that he didn't heal that hand. Chakra saturated the air around him as he gathered massive amounts of energy in the form of moisture, air, and static from the space around him and condensed it into a crackling blue and white cube above his head. It grew larger by the second. _This Araton attack is the ultimate game-changer…I will preserve your memory, kaa-chan, I swear. _

Suddenly he noticed a lack of the distinct noises of battle. He looked around to find the area empty. Where was his clone? And more importantly, where was-

His answer jumped through the roof on which Naruto stood with reckless abandon, appearing right in front of him. The younger man didn't have time to think before a fist laced heavily with green chakra sent him flying dozens of yards through taller buildings nearby. He finally crunched to a stop at the side of a tall, brick watchtower.

_Damn, he's…strong, _he thought as he fell fifteen feet to the ground, landing on his face. The potent mixture of blood and spinal fluid from his broken skull had already reached his lips. Bile might have risen in his throat, had he not already tasted it so many times before. This is was the greatest weakness of his **Envy of the Samurai** armor: there wasn't enough muscle mass on his face for the iron to flow through, leaving his head vulnerable; or at least that was his best theory, since he still did not truly understand his kekkei genkai, despite all the anatomical study he had forced himself to undergo. So there he lay on the paved stone road, with sweat and blood and skull juice leaking down his face. A chilly night breeze bit him, and there was Iso.

Naruto was floating in and out of consciousness. He couldn't for the life of him control his chakra.

_Just…one hit…was all it took?_

"I told…-ough guy!...-UCK WITH M-…" Iso's voice faded in and out as he slipped between two worlds.

_What am I even doing here?_

The pick-clad general picked him up off the ground.

_Why am I still so weak?_

He ran up the side of the watchtower still carrying his semi-conscious burden.

_Were all those years a waste? _

Iso was soon at the top, casting his gaze out at the empty- wait, his eyes saw something they clearly did not like, and he hurried to complete his current objective.

_I've been lying to myself and to kaa-chan for my entire life…I broke my promise…and now I'll die here without anyone caring…_

He threw Naruto off the dizzying heights of the watchtower, the younger man flailing pathetically as he sailed without control.

_Except…Haku…Haku…_

The older one charged his hand with green chakra and dove after and struck his back with the fullest power he could muster. Naruto flew into the earth with enough force to make a massive crater open up in the ground underneath him.

_I know I can't go where you are, kaa-chan, but…I hope Haku-chan can…_

He closed his eyes, beyond pain, beyond feeling, beyond hated, beyond love. He could not find himself anymore. There was nothing left to find.

_Do you know what it means?_

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**Rate and review. **


	16. Chapter 15

Ill-Fated

Chapter 15

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**Something Lost?**

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A sweet-scented breeze; such a quotidian thing, taken for granted by so many; but one person, at least, could appreciate the sough of a summer breeze in an otherwise silent place and let the halcyon scene sink softly, surreptitiously, into her every sense.

An orange hue intermittently dotted with purple and a deep red spanned the skyline, gazing powerfully over the tree line thick with evergreen pines. She liked to think that this was the work of some higher being, the beautiful result of a paintbrush of incomprehensible magnitude making its grand strokes across the heavens. Nature was the only flawless thing in the world; what but a perfect, intelligent being could have designed it? These thoughts comforted her when she felt the weight of armies bearing down on her shoulders, when she took the lives of her enemies with questionable motives driving her, and when her allies dropped like flies in the suffocating horror of battle. She would always look for the brushstrokes, and she always managed to find them, even in the deepest pits of hopelessness and terror. After all, if there truly was a God, then goodness must be attainable, a goal to be achieved, not an unachievable dream; if goodness existed, then so could peace, and all the sacrifices of so many dead would not be in vain. Pareidolia though it may have been, she had no one close to comfort her, no family, no lover, no true, close friend to confide in, so she allowed herself some room for imagination.

It was only a few minutes of silence, of true, inner wholeness, but that was all Mei Terumi could ask for. Ao, with that cursed stolen Byakugan, could find her anywhere- so here he was, chasing her to the desolate, remote, rocky outcropping on which she sat.

"Mei-shushou, I finally found you! The troops are gathering supplies- there are a few more logistics to be taken care of before we can move. They're all very anxious to leave this place and move on Soza, so it should not be too long."

"Of course they are. Many of them are young. They don't understand what it's like out there in battle. No story or historical account can possibly accurately inform them of what is to come."

"Correct. But their confidence and morale are high, thanks to the victories of second and third companies."

"We'll see how morale stands once they've stained their clothes with the blood of hundreds and thousands." A contemplative pause. "Speaking of victories, second company have arrived at Tantatsu, yes? Have they made any moves against Ranso and Kanshi?"

"Not that we're aware of, which is surprising, considering they've been there for a few weeks now and _Kisame Hoshigaki and Zabuza Momochi_, of all people, are leading that company. In any case, we must be off now, Mei-shushou."

She nodded. "Yes, of course."

Only a few minutes passed before they were back in downtown Otari, where soldiers were running in and out of hotel and apartment buildings, where they slept, and courthouses and gymnasiums, where equipment and provisions were stored. From grizzled jonin of age forty to fresh genin, barely twelve- _not much younger than Naruto, _she thought, the realization absolutely mind-boggling, _but at the same time so, so, _so _very much younger_- everyone's arms were full of various necessities: imperishable food- ration bars, food pills- sealing scrolls, kunai and the like. Mei managed to subdue her tendency to take control and stretch herself thin by attempting to take on every task alone, convincing herself that her officers were handling everything and that there was, in fact, a method to all this madness.

Ao led her through the densely packed downtown district, its foreboding high-rise buildings stretching toward the sky in vain attempts to scrape the stars. These buildings strongly recalled the architectural style of Amegakure, and for good reason- during the Second Great War, a large percentage of the population of that land fled to escape the insufferable carnage ravaging their homeland and ended up in this eastern area of Mizu no Kuni, which was, at the time, sparsely populated. So the settlers, harkening back to their fatherland, constructed buildings in that style. Mei wondered why they found the need to build their edifices so damn _high_- then again, perhaps it was the human condition, always wishing to better themselves without regard to the potential consequences.

It only took a few thousand years after the Tower of Babylon for mankind to once again try their luck at reaching God- but, for whatever reason, this time he wasn't trying to stop them. Or- she chuckled, as, if there truly existed an omniscient, omnipotent god, this must be the case- he knew that now, mankind was powerful and evil enough to destroy themselves before any really threatening effort could be made. Indeed, here they were: destroying themselves, not just man killing man- which is sordid enough- but countryman killing countryman, brother killing brother. And she was the leader of the whole affair, the "Prime Mover", as it were, the guiltiest of all. But it was worth it- right? It occurred to her how silly the idea was- that years of bloodshed, thousands killed, was worth it if it meant that the deaths of other thousands would end. She told herself often that what she was doing was for the "greater good", but, in reality, she knew very well that more people would die in this civil war than ever would have died had the kekkei genkai purges been allowed to continue. Those deaths were cruel, unjust- but, in the grand scheme of things, did it matter? Is it worse for a serial killer to ten people or for fifteen to commit suicide? The former were killed as a result of an evil, unjust act, while the latter chose to die- but in the end, five more people _lost their lives forever_, so how could the former be better?

She shook her head in an attempt to forcibly remove the philosophical questions from her head. At any rate, she was far too deep in this to stop. If she were to quit now, even more people would die, which would certainly not happen on her watch.

The brisk stroll to the command tent was taking eons. The chaos was overwhelming, the fact that nearly every soldier who saw her would drop what they were doing to salute her- sure, she appreciated the show of respect- only exacerbating the situation. She had learned long ago that to keep an air of professionalism, one must ignore the salutes as though they were not there, so she pressed on at an awkwardly slow pace without a thought of them. To avoid slipping into a state of ennui, which would also be unprofessional, she considered why they were in the state they were in: so tightly packed together, hardly able to breathe for lack of oxygen in the narrow streets of Otari. Not for the first time, she wondered how the loyalists could have passed up such an incredible opportunity- military officers _dreamed _of having a place like this to defend. One would be hard-pressed to find a better place in the world to set up an ambush with its thin roads and tall buildings and countless dead ends. Mei would guess that a skilled, well-organized group one-sixth the size of the attackers would be able to effectively defend this city.

So why would the loyalists abandon the place altogether and leave it for their enemies? No matter how much she meditated on it, nothing plausible came to mind. This frightened her more than anything.

Mei was not an exceptionally patient person, and was soon fed up with stumbling blindly about in the crowd, constantly tripping on Ao's feet, so she used a chakra-enhanced jump to propel herself onto the side of the nearest building, then ran up and navigated the rooftops; technically, she could just use her chakra to run along the sides of the edifices, but the mere thought of jumping sideways in midair made her head spin. Ao saw this, figured it was a good idea, and was about to follow when he heard someone calling him among the deafening cacophony.

"Ao-ippan! I got a message needs delivering!" Indeed, the blue patch on the breast of the young man's armor identified him as a messenger- not very skilled in the way of combat, but bearing speed and stamina to a point that it almost did not matter. He shoved his way through the crowd to his superior, who immediately placed a hand on his shoulder and lifted them onto a nearby rooftop with a shunshin. Surprisingly, the messenger was not caught off-guard; clearly this was quite routine for him.

"Did you run into bandits on your way?" the superior asked.

"Depends- do wolves count as bandits?" Ao nodded- the messenger was legitimate, knew the passphrase.

"Report, soldier."

"I'm afraid this message is to be delivered directly to Mei-shushou. I only approached you to ask whether you are aware of her current location."

"Directly to her? Ha! Ok. What company sent you?"

"Second."

"And your superiors?"

"Hoshigaki-ippan, Zabuza-ippan and Uchiha-sama all agreed that I should settle only with reporting directly to her."

"That is unacceptable," the second-in-command asserted, his tone brooking no argument. "There is proper protocol for transferring messages for a reason."

"I understand that, but-"

"But nothing. Mando is the post master here; you'll find him in the courthouse."

"Ao-ippan, you are being a dundridge," the younger man seethed. "I _insist _you allow me to see her."

The older one violently grabbed his collar and got in his face. "Listen here, _kid_," he seethed. "You are _nothing_ to me. I could have you locked up for insubordination right now if I wanted."

"But you won't, will you, because that would look awfully suspicious once second company heard," the boy unflinchingly answered without missing a beat.

After a tense pause: "I'm more than willing to take the risk if it means protecting my commander," Ao answered and released the messenger. "If I hear of you coming anywhere near her, I swear to you-" he released some KI to prove his point- "there _will _be hell to pay."

As steel-nerved as the younger man was, he knew better than to commit blatant insubordination. His second company superiors had only told him to try, as they had expected it to be disallowed, so they would not be displeased with him. He bowed in legitimate respect. "As you wish, Ao-ippan," he answered and jumped away.

The lieutenant general of first company let out a heavy sigh of relief. He'd have to keep an eye on that one.

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A few hours passed before everything had fallen into place. The soldiers were in proper formation to move out, forming a gigantic square around the baggage train (which traveled on the paved highway leading directly to the railroad) to protect the vulnerable but extremely valuable equipment. The thick forest on either side of the road made it difficult to maintain formation, but the best efforts were made. The outermost line of the multi-layered square was charged with focusing all their attention on sniffing out any hidden enemies; after a certain time interval, the lines would rotate.

Mei did not truly expect an ambush; the enemy had no way to know when they were leaving, and advance scouts had informed her that no loyalist camps were in the area. Leaving a sizeable force to stay in the same spot near Otari on the off chance the rebels might leave soon would have been foolish, impractical- many of the loyalist generals might have been cruel, but they weren't stupid. But she used the four-corners formation anyway, because in war, caution preceded all.

In most cities, railroads held their termini within major cities such as Otari, but, for a reason Mei could not for the life of her put her finger on, this line found its end twenty miles without the metropolis. Moving all those troops with all that baggage was painstakingly slow-going, so it was nightfall by the time they reached the old station.

The place was remarkably decrepit, especially considering its importance to the city of Otari. It was a wholly concrete structure made up of basic rectangles- the pragmatic architecture of Yagura's regime, as railroads were a relatively new invention. (This drew a stark contrast to that of Otari's, the ominous, cloud-grazing skyscrapers, and that of older, western Mizu no Kuni, based largely in concentric circles, the pinnacle of elegance, Mei's favorite.) Other than dozens of loyalist-sympathetic posters plastered on every wall (_Yagura-sama, the liberator! _they brazenly proclaimed under a flattering photo of the diminutive despot), the place lacked any decoration, a shallow box clearly meant only to provide relief from harsh weather.

Then there were the trains themselves: a grand total of twenty lines ran through here, a powerful reminder that Otari was the fourth-largest city in the country; six stretching out into infinity toward the northwest, to Soza, six southwest to Meizo, eight west to Kirigakure. Every one of the Kiri lines was empty, suggesting the civilians had escaped westward, while there were four trains remaining in each of the other two directions- this _might _suggest that enemy troops had split up, but there was no way to know for sure, so she put no stock in it.

In their haste to leave, the loyalists had performed as much sabotage on the remaining trains as they could- cutting links between cars, toppling many of the cars themselves, burying the coal furnaces in mounds of damp salt. It took nearly all of the many weeks the company spent in Otari for rebel engineers to haul the locomotives out of disrepair, but they had worked with admirable efficiency and speed to complete their task within the window.

So first company pile onto the vehicles, willingly driving themselves directly into the terrible jaws of death.

The plan was to stop fifteen miles outside Soza, as, even if the enemy was expecting them, no company could survive in the bare plains that far out from the city for two months. Mei settled into the head cabin of the second car from the front with all of her top officers. The presidential car was homely and quaint: glass chandeliers, fine silverware, tablecloths, wide aisles between rich leather booths…the epitome of elegance. The commander-in-chief chose to take a window seat and watched the countryside of the land she was willing to die for silently scroll by.

The hours dragged on; outside, forests begat rich land peopled generously with hillocks, which begat plain, yellow savannahs, which begat an awful memory of times past: an area spanning hundreds of square miles between Otari and Soza which Kumo soldiers had burned and salted during the Third Great War. This area was now called the "Salt Desert"- cruel, unforgiving, utterly uninhabitable land- and she bit back a memory, one tied to this land, and tied to every well-meaning inquiry about why she was alone-

"Such a shame," a voice across from her said, and Mei realized that she hadn't even noticed him enter the booth. How long had he been there wallowing in silence, thinking she was ignoring him?

It was a newly-minted military advisor, his sandy, shaggy hair nearly reaching his eyes, neatly framing the green orbs, admittedly a handsome man around her age. "I remember living in plains like these were before as a kid. They were beautiful. We grew wheat."

"I have a very similar story, although…" She drifted off, casting a regretful gaze through the window, but not onto a land- onto an unforeseeable coincidence still clawing at her conscience dozens of years later.

"You wouldn't like to relive it. I understand. I'm Noboru, by the way. I haven't been formally introduced yet, but I'm-"

"Kosu's replacement, I know." It stung her to think that the stubborn but lovable old dundridge had died _before _the first battle, of something as ridiculous as pneumonia. She wondered if she regretted that Kosu the person was gone, or that his skills were gone- what had she become that she knew it was the latter?

"Yeah, Kosu's replacement. Never got the chance to meet him, but heard he was a great guy."

"He was."

The man perceived her as being in no mood for small talk, but pushed for it anyway. "You know, I'm surprised someone like you turned out to be a ninja."

Anyone else might have immediately assumed it was about sex and been immediately offended; but the commander-in-chief could not imagine one of her subordinates saying something so stupid directly to her face, if at all, so she hesitated to take it as such.

"How do you mean?"

"Well," he said with a shy chuckle, "normally ladies as beautiful as you become actresses or models, not shinobi."

Mei couldn't suppress a blush. She could not for the life of her recall the last time a man had complimented her looks; all of them- with the exception, apparently, of this one- were far too frightened of a woman listed in every hidden village's Bingo Book as S-rank.

"I'm sure I'm the hundredth one to tell you this, but you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen," he said with a cheeky smile with his hand on the back of his head. "and I figured one more time couldn't hurt."

She giggled at how forward he was; transparency was so hard to come by in the shinobi world, especially when one was as high up in the ranks as she was, so she could certainly appreciate it. "You'd be surprised, then, at how rare this is. See, when you get to my age and you're leading an entire army, men tend to be pretty evasive."

His hearty laughter was the kind that could make everyone listening joyful. With each second that passed, Mei was growing to like Noboru more. "I guess that makes sense, but when I see an angel, no matter what position she's in, I'm going to ma-"

She ducked; he wasn't so lucky. The barrage of kunai crashing through the window simultaneously pierced his head, slit his throat and severed his jugular, leaving his handsome head an unrecognizable lump which landed under the table right in front of Mei, forcing her to stare into the eyes of the man she might have loved.

Before she could feel panic, fear, pain, or disgust, an explosion from underneath catapulted the car dozens of feet off the track. The tumble sent her flying across the cabin. Her head slammed against a sharp edge before she could find her balance, her consciousness fading away from a scene too horrible for screams.

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Naruto's awakening was a sudden one- one second he was just leaving the REM cycle, the next he was wide awake, just as he had learned from all those years in his prison. The shinobi's greatest fear, his fiercest enemy, was not the man on the battlefield across from him or the most powerful kage; it was time. The only battle that would always inevitably be lost, no matter the amount of chakra or training, was the one against time. Even the Sage himself lost that fight.

He faced a large window, the sun casting an amorphous, ever-shifting curtain of light onto his entire body projected through the thick leaves of the maple just outside. The walls were plain, white, just like the sheets and the pillow and the clothes he had been changed into and the IV hooked into him. In fact, the only color within his current plane of vision belonged to a lovely arrangement of yellow tulips on the nightstand by his bed.

A voice gentle as a breeze caressed his ears. "Naruto-kun? Are you awake?" Haku rose from the chair behind where her lover was facing, hurrying to the other side of the bed to meet his gaze, which he weakly returned. She heaved a sigh of relief, followed immediately by tears of joy as she kissed his cheek somewhere approaching ten million times. He was still mustering his energy; after a few minutes, he managed to sit up and look out on the rest of the small room.

There was…nobody. Nobody here to see him but Haku, the only woman he truly- loved? He considered for a second- that seemed a strange sentence. He had love, but…yes, it must be for her. Why was he even questioning that? How strange.

"Hi, Haku-chan," he whispered weakly. "Where am-" and suddenly it all flooded in, and his last memory surfaced, his voice freezing in his throat and his heart skipping a beat. He was about to leap out of the bed when he caught himself, looked at the girl he loved- it was already over. Iso was long gone, the fight was over, and he had lost. Despondency swallowed him and he sunk within himself for his failure.

Seeing his despair, she climbed under the covers with him, deftly avoiding the IV and his more sensitive areas. "Baby, you did so incredibly. You took out the entire loyalist force on Senma almost by yourself- Iso only beat you because you were so tired."

"My team-"

"Are fine. They're with the rest of the company." She saw the question forming on his lips- "on the way to Anaka. They all wanted to stay to look after you, you know."

Naruto simply made an affirmative noise.

She knew the information from Jei would be a pick-me-up. "Iso was a candidate for Mizukage, you know- the only reason why he didn't get it and Yagura did was because of Iso being too volatile. You went toe-to-toe with a kage-level shinobi. Also, you've made it in the Kiri bingo book as S-rank. They're calling you the 'Iron Terror' and 'Kazekage's Bastard' because of your lightning cloak, which is pretty pejorative, but cool at the same time."

His eyes widened- he was only thirteen, and he had faced off against a kage and lived. Imagine how strong he would be at eighteen, or twenty, or thirty… And Haku was happy, because Naruto wasn't sad, and Naruto was everything.

"So where are we? And is it just you?" he finally asked, coming back to himself.

"We're back on Ome. This is the only place safe enough to have kept you for such a long time. And yeah, it's just us two- Jei figured that leaving a regiment would only slow us down when you were prepared to go, but he couldn't afford to make the assault without Hawk, Robin and Finch. And I kind of begged him to let me-"

"Wait, he's launching the assault on Anaka without me!? They'll be screwed, that's a huge naval depot!"

"Well, they should be attacking tomorrow, so-"

"So we have to go!" He began to throw the blankets off before Haku grabbed him and held him back.

"Cut it out right now! You're still in no shape to go anywhere, much less fight a battle!"

"Actually," a white-coated doctor said as he stepped in clutching a clipboard, "you're in excellent physical shape. Your recovery has been no less than miraculous- in only two weeks, you're in better shape than anyone else would've been in two months. You could fight a war right now if you weren't so tired."

"I can't help but notice that you felt the need to insert the word 'physical' in that prognosis," the young man observed.

"A sharp one- yes, that's the bad news. In the fight, you suffered massive trauma to the temporal lobe of your cerebrum, the region of the brain associated with-"

"Perception and recognition of auditory stimuli, memory and speech, I know." Haku couldn't help but smile at the doctor's surprise. "But obviously my speech is fine, my hearing flawless, and, as Haku-chan can attest, my memory as intact as always."

"I don't doubt that- if the rest of your healing is any testimony, you aren't affected by injury as others are. It also didn't hurt that you had a master field medic on hand- if it weren't for him, you'd probably be drooling on yourself in a wheelchair, eating through a tube. Sorry for the harsh honesty. I'd thank him when I got the chance if I were you."

_Robin. _He owed him his life. Naruto had never had to depend on someone else before. He didn't know the meaning of an apology, never received one, never given one. What a strange feeling, indebtedness. He despised it and settled on never experiencing it again.

"Even if you feel fine, I'll need to conduct a few tests."

"Of course." After twenty minutes of pointing lights and probes in odd places, the doctor heaved a sigh and pulled away.

"Alright, everything looks good. You'll feel stiffness in your back for a few weeks and headaches will come and go for the same amount of time, but other than that, just get plenty of sleep for the next few days. It's Tuesday- we'll shoot for a release on Friday. I trust you can show him to the facilities and the cafeteria?" he asked, nodding to Haku, who signaled an affirmative back.

"Excellent. I'll have a nurse come by and get you off the IV soon enough. You're good to go. If you have any questions, just hit that yellow button. Get well and thank you for your service."

"Thank you," Haku answered just before he ducked out, then turned to Naruto, who was pleased enough with the news. Things could have been much, much worse. "I'm so glad you're ok," she said, another tear threatening to grace her soft cheeks. "I was so worried."

The ebony-haired boy turned his head to share a long, sweet kiss with her, one she cherished every second of. "You've got nothing to be worried about, Haku-chan. I'll always be around- I can't die knowing you're still out there. You're what kept me going, you know." Uncertainty clouded his eyes after he said that, but Haku was too obsessed with the sweetness of what he'd said to notice. _She _was what he thought of when he was in life-threatening danger. _Yes. She _gave him strength.

Naruto winced as she hugged him even more tightly. Perhaps he was growing too quixotic for his own good.

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The air was thick with dust, blood, shrieking, the insufferable boom of shrapnel cannons- such was the scene that Mei awoke to, Ao shaking her as a medic-nin poured green chakra over the gaping wound that had opened up in her head, doing an admirable job of staying under control despite the circumstances. Voices faded in and out of audibility, until finally the medic declared her condition stable and released the narcotic medical ninjutsu, which shielded the patient from pain but greatly impaired their sense of awareness.

Ao's shouting suddenly became clear as he picked her up: "Ambush! Ambush!" It seemed the Doton users had thought quickly- they stood in a ditch roughly six feet deep as cannon fire, mounted kunai launchers and hand-thrown kunai laced with explosive tags bombarded them. Mei peeked over the top of the mound to see that all four trains had been blown to bits by remotely set off, pre-planted explosive tags. She idly wondered how many had died in the first attack, then frowned as she remembered Noboru.

But there was no time for memories on the battlefield.

"Casualties?" she snapped to her right-hand man.

"Best estimate is about two thousand already, and rapidly increasing, ma'm." She snarled- what a hopeless situation, to be surrounded on both sides by heavy cannons and no doubt outnumbered by a massive margin.

"We only have one option: have the Doton users fortify this trench only slightly for now, wait until they run out of cannon ammunition and attempt to make a charge, then immediately- and I mean _immediately_, Ao- we deploy Fortification Plan Alpha. Understood?"

"If I may ask- then what, Mei-shushou?"

"We pray to Kami that we can get a message to Naruto, since he's the only one close enough- he should be recovered by now- before he leaves to rejoin his company; the element of surprise is our only hope at this point. If we can't-" and her eyes were stone-cold, piercing through Ao's, her voice dripping with a foreboding prophecy itching to manifest itself- "first company will be forced to make a last stand at Oko railroad, and history will not remember that there ever was a Kiri civil war."

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**Rate and review. **


	17. AN 2

Sorry to everyone who was expecting a new chapter, but I felt that letting you know would be better than leaving you hanging- it'll be a couple weeks before I can post again thanks to midterms.

Apparently my "future" is more important than writing fan fiction. _As if!_ you say, but school really is important. Without school, I'd be a philistine charlatan of an author, my polysemous prevarications proven hebetudinous malapropisms; the only denouement could be an amalgamation of animadversions, with my so-called paragon-defining ripostes rendered incondite, asthenic, agrestic babbling which fails to assuage the ennui of even my most halcyon myrmidons. So study kids! _Carpe diem! Si elephantus esses, igne vehementer occidereris! _

I understand that my two stories don't have nearly the views that _Something You Can't Ignore _does, but nonetheless, I'd love to see more feedback from you guys. Any of you who also post stories know what it's like to spend every other second checking your phone. For those of you who haven't, the joy of seeing new reviews on story is beyond words- help me achieve that feeling more! Give me your opinions, reactions, predictions, even advice. Every comment counts.

This will be taken down when I post the next chapter. Thanks for your patience and your views.

-BarelyGhost


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